By Jennifer P. Rendon
The Balikatan exercises are more than just weapons, warfare, and combat strategies.
As part of the Balikatan Exercises 38-23 held in Antique province, the Philippine Army and the United States Armed Forces embarked on a health awareness campaign and training in Sibalom town.
Balikatan is an annual bilateral exercise between the AFP and the USAF Indo-Pacific Command that aims to strengthen the capacity and competencies of both forces in the spectrum of military operations, such as counter-terrorism, humanitarian assistance, and disaster response.
The conduct of the Psychological First Aid and Common Oral Diseases and Oral Hygiene Seminar on April 17 was part of the two-day Cooperative Health Engagement (CHE) activities.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines’s (AFP) CHE team and the US Army’s Medical Inter-Operability Training (MIT) Team, together with the 61st Infantry (Hunter) Battalion and 3rd Civil-Military Operations Battalion, initiated the Psychological First Aid Training at the Sibalom Evacuation Center in District II, Sibalom.
Headed by municipal health officer Dr. Eleanor Jornada, around 48 health workers from different barangays in Sibalom participated in the activity.
A separate CHE activity was also conducted in Barangay Inabasan, Sibalom, on the same day.
AFP and US forces conducted a Common Oral Diseases and Oral Hygiene and Women’s Health Awareness Seminar with at least 60 participants, mostly women residents.
On April 16, the BK-38-23 conducted Basic Life Support Training in Sibalom that saw the participation of 57 Antiqueños.
The 3rd Infantry Division said that all activities are part of the ongoing Humanitarian Civic Assistance of the Balikatan 38-23 in Antique.
Aside from CHE events, the province is also a beneficiary of other HCA projects and programs, including the Engineer Civic Action Project (ENCAP), Community Relations (ComRel), and Civil Affairs.
