(Photo Courtesy)
TACLOBAN CITY – Pacific Partnership 2026 (PP26), a multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster preparedness mission, has returned to Tacloban City with disaster response training and capacity building among its key activities.
The 12-day mission, which began Sept. 18 and will run until Sept. 29, brings together military personnel and civilian experts from the United States, Canada, Germany, Japan, New Zealand and the United Kingdom to work with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), local officials and Filipino experts.
The mission is focused on strengthening the ability of participating countries and local responders to work together during disasters, including through exchanges on urban search and rescue and incident command systems.
This is the third time Pacific Partnership has held a mission in Tacloban, following its visits in 2014 and 2019. The 2014 mission came several months after Super Typhoon Yolanda devastated Tacloban and other parts of Eastern Visayas in November 2013.
The 2019 mission, held from March 11 to 22, included disaster response seminars, urban search and rescue training, engineering projects and medical activities. More than 300 participants took part in a collaborative disaster relief exercise during the mission’s final days.
For the 2026 mission, activities are grouped into four areas: disaster management, engineering, medical services and host-nation outreach.
The disaster management component will involve subject-matter expert exchanges between Pacific Partnership personnel and local counterparts on urban search and rescue, incident command systems and other disaster response capabilities.
The engineering component will involve US Navy Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 5 and Amphibious Construction Battalion 1 working with the AFP’s 546th Engineer Construction Battalion and engineers from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
They will undertake projects at local schools, including the installation of new water hoses at Santa Elena Elementary School and repair of a roof truss at the two-room schoolhouse of Lorenzo Daa Memorial School.
Medical personnel will conduct exchanges with Filipino health professionals in optometry, dentistry and rehabilitation at Leyte Provincial Hospital. Community health engagements will also be conducted in four local government units.
The Pacific Partnership Band will hold performances at various locations, including Robinsons Mall, as part of the mission’s community outreach activities.
US Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Lipton said the mission would help strengthen disaster response capabilities while providing essential services and deepening cooperation between the Philippines and participating countries.
US Navy Capt. Robert Reyes, mission commander of PP26, said the activities would strengthen the capacity of the participating countries to respond collectively to disasters and other crises.
“Through disaster response training, engineering projects, medical exchanges, and community outreach, we strengthen our collective readiness, deepen our relationships and build the capacity to stand together, both in times of peace and when crisis strikes,” Reyes said.
An opening ceremony was held on Monday, Sept. 21, at the Tacloban City Convention Center, attended by US Ambassador Lipton, City Mayor Alfred Romualdez, Leyte Gov. Carlos Jericho “Icot” Petilla as represented by board member Raisa Villasin, and Maj. Gen. Peter Burgonio, 8th ID commander general and commander of Joint Task Force Storm
The Philippines and the United States are also marking the 80th anniversary of their diplomatic relations this year.
Pacific Partnership, now in its 22nd iteration, is an annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster management preparedness mission in the Indo-Pacific region. It began following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and has evolved from providing direct assistance toward greater emphasis on disaster preparedness, interoperability and exchanges with host nations.
The 2026 mission is intended to strengthen the ability of participating forces and local responders to coordinate during emergencies by building preparedness during peacetime.
For Tacloban, the mission also carries particular significance given the city’s experience with major disasters, including Super Typhoon Yolanda, and its previous participation in Pacific Partnership disaster preparedness activities.
In 2019, for example, Pacific Partnership personnel worked with Philippine servicemembers, medical professionals, police, firefighters and community volunteers in a field exercise simulating an 8.5-magnitude earthquake at the Tacloban City Market.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)
