SOUTHCOM, Zamboanga - AFP Southern Command with the assistance of the U.S. military conducted a joint medical civic action program or MEDCAP last week on the island of Tawi-Tawi. A total of over 3,000 men, women and children were treated. The first medical program took place at a school in Batu-Batu on August 9. A second MEDCAP was conducted at Mindanao State University in Sanga-Sanga on August 10.

“These events are symbol to the people of the Philippines that the AFP-U.S. combined efforts are humanitarian in nature and of good will,” said Captain Ritche Pabilonia, SOUTHCOM Public Information Officer.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines provided a military medical staff of 13 medical and dental specialists. The AFP also took advantage of the presence of the U .S . Navy’s ESG1 situated off the coast of the Philippines in international waters. ESG1 is a combination of various U.S. Navy vessels that sail together as a group. The ESG1 augmented SOUTHCOM’s staff with about 30 medical and dental technicians along with an element that assisted the AFP Marines in providing security and logistical support.

The first MEDCAP saw the delivery of several hundred packaged school books to the Batu-Batu school. Furniture in the form of tables and book shelves were also crafted on site and donated to the school. The books and furniture were provided by the Peace and Prosperity for the Philippines Foundation (3P) in which founder and chairman, Andy De Rossi and his son, Michael, were present.

A similar scene took place the following day at Mindanao State University in Sanga-Sanga. Here faculty and college students took a day off from classes and donned “MEDCAP T-shirts” to volunteer as translators for the medical and dental technicians.
Also present at the two MEDCAPs was the Mabuhay Desert Foundation, a non- government organization (NGO) that specializes in treating people suffering from cleft palates, club limbs, and eye defects free of charge. A staff of four volunteers diagnosed hundreds of potential candidates over the two days. Based on their initial assessment, the NGO hopes to treat close to 290 people.

Goodwill medical civic action programs such as the two performed in Tawi-Tawi fall under Project Bayanihan in which the U.S. military works together with their AFP counterparts to improve the well being of people in communities they serve.