U.S. Embassy Photo Release
March 15, 2007
Fil-Am Sailor Gives Back to His Homeland
During Visit of USS Comstock to Legazpi
U.S. Navy Culinary Specialist Third Class Angelito Ilao never thought he would be back in the Philippines, helping his fellow Filipinos.
American Sailors and Marines arrived in Legazpi City, Albay Province onboard the USS Comstock on March 12 to partner with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for several days of humanitarian projects benefiting victims of natural disasters in the area.
The San Diego-based ship carried Marines and Navy “Seabees” from the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade stationed in Okinawa, Japan. Filipino-American sailors make up 11% of the USS Comstock’s crew. This opportunity to return home to provide aid to the people of the Philippines is a morale builder for the crew, which is currently on an extended Western Pacific Deployment.
Culinary Specialist Ilao visited his hometown of Baguio City in December, and is thrilled to be back so soon. “I just got back from the Philippines, but this time it was a different feeling going back,” he says. “This time I got to go back in my uniform, and that meant a lot to me. It was a chance for me to help my fellow countrymen out. The visit is more meaningful.” Pictured above, Ilao hands out treats to Filipino children living at a relocation and evacuation center in Legazpi.
Ilao is in charge of delivering pre-made meals for the hardworking crew of the USS Comstock, who are working all day with soldiers from the AFP and local volunteers on programs such as engineering projects to repair, improve, and clean schools and evacuation centers; and free health clinics at six evacuation sites for citizens who are still homeless after the typhoons of late 2006.
One of the sites Culinary Specialist Ilao visited in the Legazpi area with the U.S. and Philippine Sailors and Marines was the Tyson Relocation Center, a place where families whose homes had been destroyed or made unlivable can find shelter until their homes are rebuilt. For some area residents, the possessions they managed to bring with them to the relocation center are all they have left.
“When I delivered the lunchboxes to Tyson, nobody really wanted to eat,” relates Ilao. “(All of the U.S. Sailors) who were working there were more worried about the kids. I had a bag of M&Ms that I individually passed out to each child so they could get one. They don’t get to have little things like that often, so it meant a lot to them.”
The visit of the USS Comstock is part of Operation Goodwill, created in 2003 by U.S. Marines, service members, and their families in Okinawa to show appreciation to the children and families of the Philippines for welcoming them during annual bilateral exercises. The U.S. Marines work each year with their families to gather donations and then deliver toys and supplies to Filipino children over the holiday season.
The United States has been a long-standing partner of the Philippines in disaster relief and response to humanitarian crises. From the U.S. Marines' crisis assistance in Aurora and Quezon provinces after typhoons in 2004, and in southern Leyte after the landslide in February 2006, to emergency assistance following Typhoons Milenyo and Reming in late 2006, the American people have been ready and willing to help the Filipino people in their time of need.
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