Muslim Boy Hurt In Jolo Road Accident Airlifted To Zambo By U.S. Troops

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 03 Oct) – A Muslim boy who was hit by a motorcycle in Jolo had been airlifted Tuesday to Zamboanga City on a military helicopter by U.S. and Filipino troops participating in a joint humanitarian mission in the southern island, a nurse here said.

The boy was hit while trying to cross a street near his school in Jolo island, the nurse, who was on duty at the emergency room of the private Western Mindanao Medical Center, told the Mindanao Examiner.

“They brought the boy here in the hospital and those soldiers had been very active in humanitarian missions. They had also airlifted and brought medical patients here in the past,” she said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

She did not say what the condition of the boy was.

Private hospitals in Zamboanga City usually do not give information about its patients or details involving emergency cases.

Hundreds of U.S. troops are stationed in the southern Philippines and also involved in training Filipino soldiers under the so-called Kapit-Bisig, a codename for this year’s joint anti-terrorism warfare training in the southern Philippines.

But more than 500 U.S. Marines are also expected to arrive late Tuesday at the Subic Bay Free Port outside Manila on the WestPac Express, a U.S.-leased high-speed vessel, in preparation for another bilateral training exercises conducted annually by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and U.S. military as part of their long-standing partnership.

The service members from the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, III Marine Expeditionary Force from Okinawa, Japan, and their equipment are part of an advance element of U.S. forces that will participate in two upcoming RP-U.S. bilateral exercises, Talon Vision and Amphibious Landing Exercise (PHIBLEX) FY 2007.

These forces are arriving to begin preparations for follow-on forces and the many civil-military operations they will conduct to benefit Filipino citizens living near the training areas, including holding free medical and dental programs and completing engineering and construction projects, according to a U.S. Embassy statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner.

“These routine bilateral exercises, being held from October 16-31, 2006, are designed to improve interoperability, increase readiness, and continue professional relationships between the United States and Philippine Armed Forces,” it said.