Philippine Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam Her Excellency Ambassador Marian Jocelyn Tirol-Ignacio met with Philippine representatives to the 15th Meeting for ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+) Experts’ Working Group on Military Medicine (EWG on MM) held on 01 to 03 November 2022 at the Rizqun International Hotel, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam. Guest speakers from the Philippine delegation as well as a representative from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) based in the Philippines were invited to present at the experts meeting.
Officials from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) led by AFP Surgeon General Brigadier General Fatima Claire Navarro called on Ambassador Tirol-Ignacio on 02 November 2022 and while the Presidential Commission on the Visiting Forces Agreement (PCVFA) headed by Undersecretary Pedro Cesar C. Ramboanga met with her on 04 November 2022. Other delegates from the AFP were Colonel Raymond Elpedes, Colonel Jose Rosel Reduble, Colonel Joseph Alain Ibuna, Colonel Marilyn Tolentino, and Colonel Ma. Dolores Lim. The PCVF was also represented by Mr Lance Justin Calub and Mr. John Louise Garcia.
Ambassador Tirol-Ignacio also hosted a dinner for the Philippine delegation on 02 November 2022 which included Filipino and OCHA representative Mr Martin Ramil Maquilan to the experts meeting.
The Philippines took center stage at this year’s ADMM+ EWG on MM Meeting which focused on the implementation of the Project Community Medical Deployment (PCMD) initiative utilizing the ASEAN Logistics Support Framework (LSF) to be piloted in the Philippines. The pilot will evaluate the effectiveness of employing a one-stop shop to facilitate medical relief provided by military-led disaster response and humanitarian assistance missions from ASEAN and ASEAN-Plus member states. Camp Tinio, a vulnerable community in Nueva Ecija was selected as the site of the pilot project. The mechanics for the conduct of a health needs assessment for the chosen community was also discussed during the experts meeting.
UNOCHA is also piloting an innovative humanitarian initiative in the Philippines called the Anticipatory Action Framework. CERF has allocated $7.5 million for the pilot to cover most vulnerable communities living in 8 prioritized Philippine provinces, with the aim to reach about 270,500 people with multi-purpose cash assistance ahead of typhoon landfall. The anticipatory action intervention will mount a collective humanitarian action to mitigate the impact of a severe typhoon hitting the Bicol and Eastern Visayas regions.
Since its establishment in 2010, the EWG on MM has strengthened cooperation, interoperability and coordination among the military medical services of the 18 ADMM-Plus countries as envisaged by the ADMM-Plus leaders.
The 15th expert meeting was co-chaired by Colonel (Dr) Haji Awang Mohd. Hafizul Bin Haji Awang Mohd Hassan, Chief Medical Officer of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF), and Brigadier Isaac Seidl, Director General of Operational Health, Joint Health Command of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). It was officiated by Yang Mulia Haji Adi Ihram bin Dato Paduka Haji Mahmud, Deputy Permanent Secretary (Policy and Strategy), Ministry of Defence, Brunei Darussalam.
The meeting was physically attended by representatives from the ADMM-Plus countries and the ASEAN Centre of Military Medicine (ACMM), while representatives from China, Japan, Malaysia, India, New Zealand, the United States and the ASEAN Secretariat joined the meeting virtually. END
