DEPLOYMENT OF US TROOPS FOR RESCUE EFFORTS
IN SOUTHERN LEYTE LAUDED

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Nene Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) today commended the United States for committing up to 3,000 troops to help in the rescue and relief operations in St. Bernard, Southern Leyte.

American troops helping rescue victims in the St. Bernard landslide is their most positive contribution to Filipino-US relations this year. Instead of going to war, they are building bridges, peace and goodwill, Pimentel said.

The 3,000 troops, representing more than half of the American soldiers participating in joint anti-terrorism exercises with Filipino forces in the South, were diverted to beef up the efforts to rescue more than 1,000 residents of Barangay Guinsaugon, St. Bernard town who were buried under tons of mud and rocks that cascaded down from the slope of a nearby mountain.

US Brig. Gen. Martin Robeson said that up to 500 troops could be deployed in the disaster site, while the rest will man three ships to ferry relief supplies.