Manila—On May 13, the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) concluded its two-week training course with the Philippine Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) on countering weapons of mass destruction (CWMD).
This training, which involved more than 100 participants from each region across the Philippines, focused on the risks that first responders face when encountering a Chemical, Biological, Radioactive and Nuclear (CBRN) incident. A CBRN incident can be accidental or intentional, and BFP officers use their specialized equipment to ascertain what type of chemical or other material is present.
The CWMD Operations course enabled the students to analyze an incident, plan the initial response, and implement defensive actions to include: the selection and use of personal protective equipment, air monitoring and sampling, technical and mass decontamination, victim rescue and recovery, defensive product control, evidence preservation, and illicit laboratory and improvised device awareness.
The CWMD Technicians course allowed tactical leaders to analyze a problem, plan and implement a response, evaluate progress, adjust as needed, and assist in terminating a WMD incident.
“This CWMD Technicians course and the provisions of much-needed tools and equipment from DTRA will surely enhance BFP’s Special Rescue Force’s (SRF) capability to respond to CBRN incidents, especially with the newly created Hazmat and CBRN Teams in Cagayan de Oro and Puerto Princesa,” said SRF Director Chief Supt. Romel Tradio. “This strong partnership fosters security and progress.”
DTRA has been a longtime partner of BFP, enabling both the U.S. and the Philippines to learn best practices from each other. As the premier CBRN response agency in the Philippines, BFP continuously holds refresher and sustainment training on the tactics, techniques, and procedures necessary to stay ahead of the emerging risks and threats to the Philippines.
“This training was significant in enabling us to support the Philippine firefighters in their mission,” said DTRA Director of Onsite Inspection and Building Partner Capacity David L. Musgrave. “Since 2013, DTRA has worked closely with a number of Philippine units by providing training and equipment to enhance their ability to respond to incidents involving chemical, biological, or radiological material. We are very proud to support the efforts of our Philippine partners to bolster the safety and security of their nation.”
Plans for future DTRA capacity-building activities in the Philippines include training on a new mass-casualty decontamination system that was donated to the Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao, additional virtual trainings for CBRN awareness, and opportunities for BFP officers to travel to the United States and other countries for multinational training events once travel restrictions are lifted.
DTRA works continuously to enable the U.S. and partner nations to counter and deter WMDs as well as other emerging threats to human life.
In April, DTRA also held a training in Tuguegarao City to boost the Philippines’ capability to detect diseases and reduce biological threats. This training was built off of a longstanding cooperative partnership between DTRA’s Biological Threat Reduction Program (BTRP) and the Philippine Department of Agriculture Regional Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (RADDL) network.
It focused on improving capacity to safely detect, map, and report zoonotic disease, specifically targeting improvements in the biosecurity and biosafety practices necessary to effectively manage anthrax—a naturally occurring pathogen in the Philippines that has the potential to cause disease in animals and humans. It additionally supported the capability of RADDL II to characterize and map local disease burden, enabling improved risk assessments and bolstering it as a central line of defense against biothreat agents.

Manila —The United States, in partnership with the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) facility, donated an additional 2,703,870 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to the Philippines as part of its relentless worldwide effort to help end COVID-19, particularly amid the threat of the Omicron variant.
The vaccines, which arrived in Manila on January 9, were part of the 500 million Pfizer doses the United States is making available for distribution through COVAX, a global initiative to support equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. As the largest donor to the COVAX facility, the United States has facilitated the delivery of over 65 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to the Philippines, including nearly 25 million doses provided by the American people.
“Thanks to recent deliveries, the COVAX facility and the United States have exceeded our goal of providing enough doses to vaccinate one-in-five Filipinos. We will continue to provide more safe and effective life-saving vaccines to our Filipino friends, partners, and allies as we work to end the COVID-19 pandemic together,” said U.S. Embassy in the Philippines Chargé d’Affaires ad interim Heather Variava.
The United States is working closely with Philippine partners to protect public health and support the local response to COVID-19. In addition to vaccine donations, the U.S. government has also provided more than Php1.9 billion ($39 million) in COVID-19 assistance to the Philippines to support testing, crucial care, communication campaigns, protection and training of health workers, vaccine deployment, and essential equipment and supplies.
To learn more about the U.S. government and American companies’ COVID-19 assistance to the Philippines, visit https://ph.usembassy.gov/fact-sheet-us-covid-19-assistance-to-the-philippines/.

In a statement released by the US Embassy in Manila, the US State Department said the US “stands with our ally, the Philippines, in the face of this escalation that directly threatens regional peace and stability…”

The Full Statement:

“On the Situation in the South China Sea

Two days ago, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Coast Guard blocked and used water cannons against Philippine resupply ships en route to Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea.

The United States stands with our ally, the Philippines, in the face of this escalation that directly threatens regional peace and stability, escalates regional tensions, infringes upon freedom of navigation in the South China Sea as guaranteed under international law, and undermines the rules-based international order.

On July 12, 2016, an Arbitral Tribunal constituted under the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention, delivered a unanimous and enduring decision firmly rejecting the PRC’s claims to Second Thomas Shoal and to waters determined to be part of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. 

The PRC and the Philippines, pursuant to their treaty obligations under the Law of the Sea Convention, are legally bound to comply with this decision.  The PRC should not interfere with lawful Philippine activities in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

The United States stands with our Philippine allies in upholding the rules-based international maritime order and reaffirms that an armed attack on Philippine public vessels in the South China Sea would invoke U.S. mutual defense commitments under Article IV of the 1951 U.S. Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty.

The United States strongly believes that PRC actions asserting its expansive and unlawful South China Sea maritime claims undermine peace and security in the region.”

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Subic Bay Freeport — The suspension of the termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines and the United States has raised hopes on the return of US Military presence in this former US Naval Base.

“From an SBF (Subic Bay Freeport) point of view especially post Covid-19, this is welcome because it means we can continue to be a staging point for Balikatan Exercise, host US and allied ships which will bring much needed income,” Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma told Subic Bay News.

According to a US Embassy statement today (June 2), the Government of the Philippines on Monday, June 1 “notified the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines of its decision to suspend termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement.”

“The United States welcomes the Philippine government’s decision,” the US Embassy said, “our long-standing alliance has benefited both countries, and we look forward to continued close security and defense cooperation with the Philippines.”

On orders of President Rodrigo R. Duterte, the Philippines officially notified the United States on February 11 this year that it would be terminating the VFA, which would have been effective 180 days later, or on August 9, 2020.

The March 27, 1999 VFA that allows temporary visits of US troops in the country, mainly for joint military exercises, is anchored on the RP-US Mutual Defense Treaty of 1951, under which both countries have an obligation to support each other in case of an armed attack.

Duterte’s decision to terminate the VFA was widely seen as a knee-jerk reaction on the cancellation of Sen. Ronald dela Rosa’s US Visa as part of a crackdown on Human Rights violators by the US government. Dela Rosa led Duterte’s bloody “war on drugs” during his stint as the country’s top policeman, and was party to the incarceration of Sen. Leila de Lima on what is believed to be trumped-up drug charges.

Reminiscent of the stay of the US Military in Subic as a US Naval Base beginning in 1899, the largest outside the US Mainland, shutdown in 1992 by the rejection of the Philippine senate of the extension of the RP-US Military Bases Agreement (MBA) then set to expire, the Subic Bay Freeport, as well as the outlying communities benefit from the VFA in various ways, including ships services, bunkering, supplies, and personnel spending, pumping millions of pesos into the local economy.

US Servicemen also conduct community outreach activities during visits, which include medical and dental projects, school painting and repairs, among others, one reason why the locals here are understandably pre-dominantly “pro-US.”

According to SBMA Chaiman Eisma, “I grew up in Olongapo at a time when the US base was still here and I experienced first hand the impact of such activities to the community.” (VVV)

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Created as part of USAID’s Fish Right project, Fish Tiangge is an online marketplace that can connect 6,000 fisherfolks with buyers from more than 300,000 households in three of the Philippines’ most important areas for marine biodiversity: South Negros and Visayan Sea in the Visayas region, and the Calamianes Group of Islands in Palawan.  

First launched by Silliman University in Dumaguete City in early April, the publicly-accessible platform enables buyers to purchase fish directly from sellers, and dedicated pedicab drivers deliver orders.  Silliman University monitors Fish Tiangge to ensure that no prohibited fish products are sold and that fish are sourced from fishers registered in their localities.

“By connecting fishers and consumers online, the U.S. government is helping to protect fisherfolk income and prevent a food crisis, while ensuring that conservation measures are not compromised in areas that are hard-hit by COVID-19,” said U.S. Ambassador Sung Kim.  “We will continue to work with local partners to help Filipinos manage the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic while protecting the Philippines’ marine environment.”

Fish Tiangge supports ongoing Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) efforts to connect fishers with markets and consumers in an efficient, cost-effective manner.  Thanks to USAID’s partnership with BFAR’s Kadiwa market system, these mobile fish markets are the start of a new, nationwide online supply chain of safe, legally-sourced seafood. 

“We want to help our fishers keep their markets open and viable in the face of mobility restrictions under the COVID-19 emergency,” Silliman University president Ben Malayang III said.  “Enabling fisherfolk to secure their incomes in times of severe stresses is crucial to both their long-term well-being and their support for compliant, sustainable fisheries.”

USAID’s Fish Right program is a five-year partnership between the U.S. and Philippine governments to address biodiversity threats, improve marine ecosystem governance, and increase fish biomass in South Negros, the Calamianes Island Group, and Visayan Sea.  The increase in biomass will benefit more than two million people living in these fishing communities. 

The Fish Right program is being implemented by the University of Rhode Island, in partnership with local universities and non-government organizations. (USEmbassyPh)

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Two-time Fulbright alumnus and CHED Chairman J. Prospero De Vera and U.S. Embassy in the Philippines Cultural Affairs Officer Matthew Keener kicked off the session by welcoming participants to the webinar, “Evolving Dynamics on Internationalization during and beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic.”  

“Today’s webinar is part of the CHED-U.S. Embassy agreement signed at the Diamond Hotel in Makati almost a year ago,” said De Vera.  “Through this agreement, the Commission and the U.S. Embassy confirmed their shared interest in promoting increased higher education cooperation and educational exchange between the Philippines and the United States by facilitating several areas of cooperation.”  

During the virtual program, experts from Texas International Education Consortium and SUNY-COIL (State University of New York-Collaborative Online Learning Center) discussed how Philippine universities can respond to challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic to effectively sustain and pursue partnerships and continue their internationalization efforts.  They also shared best practices about how continuity of education and flexible learning can be facilitated remotely through a pandemic-proof approach to higher education.  

This program is one of the primary outputs of the U.S.-Philippine Joint Statement on Higher Education, signed by U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim and CHED Chairman De Vera at the 2019 Bilateral Strategic Dialogue held in Manila.  

“We are dedicated to continuing our partnership with CHED and with the Philippines as we deepen our international linkages between our higher education institutions,” said Keener.  

In addition to assisting and advising Filipinos interested in studying in the United States, EducationUSA Philippines works closely with Philippine higher education institutions interested in collaborating with accredited U.S. higher education institutions.  You can find more information about EducationUSA on Facebook at www.facebook.com/educationusa.philippines and on Twitter at @EducationUSA_PH.  (USEmbassy)

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This newest tranche of U.S. assistance will support laboratory and specimen-transport systems and intensify case-finding and disease surveillance. The funding also will assist Filipino and international technical experts in risk communication, infection prevention and control efforts, handwashing and hygiene promotion, and community-level preparedness and response.

The U.S. government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is collaborating with the Philippine government to implement internationally-recognized prevention, control, and response strategies to protect against infectious diseases.

Previously, the United States announced Php203 million ($4 million) in health funding to support the Philippine government’s efforts to prepare laboratory systems to combat the virus, as well as a donation of 1,300 cots to Philippine medical facilities.

Thus far, U.S. assistance has: 

· Boosted Testing Capacity: U.S.-supported efforts to augment the Philippines Department of Health (DOH)’s testing capacity by upgrading laboratories, provide laboratory supplies, and strengthen specimen transport systems have contributed to an increase in the country’s testing capacity from 200 to approximately 3,000 tests per day. 

· Intensified Infection Control: USAID’s online learning modules are boosting capacities in more than 100 hospitals across the country with the most up-to-date COVID-19 infection prevention and control information and skills. This assistance also helps individuals, families, and frontline community and hospital heath care workers to protect themselves from infection. 

· Enhanced Risk Preparedness and Crisis Communications: USAID is supporting DOH communications platforms, including the Healthy Pilipinas Facebook page for accurate COVID-19 information. USAID is also supporting the DOH to rapidly translate and communicate the latest COVID-19 guidelines and policies for improved implementation of COVID-19 response.

· Strengthened Supply Chain Management: USAID assisted the DOH to develop and launch a nationwide commodity and logistics tracking tool that offers real-time data on stores of life-saving COVID-19 commodities, in turn improving the availability and appropriate management and delivery to the areas of greatest need.

· Expanded WASH Access and Data Collection: USAID is expanding community access to water, sanitation, hygiene services, and commodities to prevent the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19. Funding also aids Filipino and international technical experts in data collection to enhance COVID-19 response and preparedness, including support for two surveillance experts who are assisting the DOH Epidemiology Bureau with Analysis and reporting of COVID-19 cases.

The United States has invested more than $4.5 billion in total assistance to the Philippines over the past 20 years, including $582 million to support the public health system. USEmbassyManila)

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By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kaysee Lohmann, USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) Public Affairs

ATLANTIC OCEAN (NNS) — Sailors aboard Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) recently helped prevent COVID-19 transmission by making masks for medical personnel and other Sailors on the frontline of the fight against the disease.

Truman, underway in the Atlantic Ocean, has no cases of COVID-19; the masks were made in preparation for Truman’s return to homeport.
The ship’s aircraft intermediate maintenance department, deck and medical departments coordinated mask production.

“We’re going home to a different environment, so it’s important for us to make preparations for the virus in order to maintain mission readiness and for Sailors to stay fit for full duty,” said Aircrew Survival Equipmentman 2nd Class Caitlin Schumacher, a Truman AIMD paraloft Sailor, who helped assemble masks.

Truman’s paraloft assembled the masks using local supplies provided by the ship’s medical department. According to Cmdr. Veronica Bigornia, Truman’s senior medical officer, making the masks is a smart use of Truman’s resources and demonstrates how ships can take actions to stay safe and accomplish the mission.

“The desired effect is to protect those Sailors in jobs that put them at higher risk of breathing in viral particles from other people,” said Bigornia. “These masks are important to cover the two main ways COVID-19 enters the body: your mouth and nose.”

Bigornia added that the masks were produced from Halyard H600 medical fabric, currently used by the ship’s medical department to wrap surgical instruments after use, before they go into a sterilizer.

“Truman Medical will utilize the masks to protect ourselves as we begin screening potentially exposed personnel prior to coming aboard,” said Bigornia. “These masks are as effective as the commercial N95 masks when worn correctly with a good seal and fit around the nose and mouth. The N95 rating means the mask blocks 95% of very small particles. Coronavirus is carried in respiratory droplets with a total size too large to get through an N95-rated mask.”

Due to Truman Sailors’ efforts, essential personnel aboard the ship will have high-quality personal protective equipment available for use as soon as it is needed.

The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group (HSTCSG) remains at sea in the Atlantic as a certified carrier strike group force ready for tasking, in order to protect the crew from the risks posed by COVID-19, following their successful deployment to the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet areas of operation.

Keeping HSTCSG at sea in U.S. 2nd Fleet, in the sustainment phase of OFRP, allows the ship to maintain a high level of readiness during the global COVID-19 pandemic.