UN cites 30 Pinoy peacekeeper-cops in Liberia

Some 30 peacekeepers sent by the Philippine National Police (PNP) to Liberia have been honored by the United Nations (UN) before their scheduled departure to Manila.
 
In a statement on Monday, the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) said the peacekeepers, led by Deputy Police Commissioner Cesar Hawthorne Binag, were cited "in two separate occasions" at the UNMIL headquarters in the capital of Monrovia.
 
Binag, along with Police Commissioner Greg Hinds, were recognized in a UN Medal ceremony on November 5 "for their hard work, patient and inspirational leadership as demonstrated in the exemplary performance of the UN Police."
 
In a separate ceremony the following day, 29 PNP officers, headed by Contingent commander Supt. Eduardo Abaday, also received the coveted UN Medal.
 
Karin Landgren, UN chief of mission and special representative of the Secretary General of the UN, said the peacekeepers played a critical role in UNMIL's "complex mandate to build and develop the institutional capacity of Liberia's law enforcement agencies" amid threats, particularly that of the Ebola virus.
 
Their counterparts from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, consist of members of the Air Force, were given similar citations last June, Binag said in a statement.
 
Most of the peacekeepers are expected to arrive in the Philippines on Wednesday afternoon, when they will immediately be taken to Caballo Island near Corregidor for a 21-day quarantine.
 
In a press conference on Monday, AFP chief Gen. Gregorio Catapang Jr. said the contingent—made up of 108 members of the Air Force, 24 members of the PNP, and one member of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) -- "all passed the Ebola Screening Test" conducted by UNMIL, which is required for contingents that will be repatriated.
 
The peacekeepers belong to the "No Risk" category because they did not deal with Ebola patients, Catapang said, adding that the quarantine was only part of the protocol.
 
Binag, Abaday, and three others will be the left-behind party in charge of administrative check-out procedures for the contingent and will follow in a separate flight out to Manila, the UNMIL statement said.—NB, GMA News

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