U.S. Embassy Photo Release
June 1, 2007
Ambassador Kenney Visits Zamboanga for CARAT Exercises;
Views U.S. Programs for Community Development
U.S. Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney visited Zamboanga City on May 31-June 1 during the kickoff of the 13th annual bilateral naval training exercise “Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training,” known as CARAT.
CARAT 2007 is a combined naval tactical operations exercise involving fleet forces of both the Philippine and United States Navies. The exercise also focuses on relationship building through social and community service events such as providing free medical, dental, and veterinary care in host communities. The Ambassador visited the USS Harper’s Ferry, which is participating in the exercise, and met with Philippine Army Lieutenant General Cedo to discuss additional ways for our nations’ militaries to work together on humanitarian and development programs.
The Ambassador also toured several U.S.-funded projects for development in the Zamboanga area. Ambassador Kenney joined Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat to officially turn over the Tumaga Hanging Footbridge, which was built so residents can safely and easily cross the Tumaga River and improve their access to needed health, social and economic services in the town center. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), through its Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) program, built the new 30-meter long pedestrian footbridge to replace a deteriorating wooden bridge. Pictured above, Ambassador Kenney and Mayor Lobregat are led by a group of local children across the new footbridge.
Ambassador Kenney also attended a roundtable discussion on tax collection with Mayor Lobregat and local business leaders. Zamboanga City is one of 16 Mindanao cities participating in USAID’s and The Asia Foundation’s Transparent and Accountable Governance (TAG) Project. Under TAG, participating city governments have committed themselves to enacting specific governance reforms to improve services and reduce corruption. Zamboanga City chose to reform its processes for collecting business taxes and issuing business permits.
She also visited Barangay Pangapuyan on Pangapuyan Island, a remote community that received electricity through a program supported by the U.S. Government. USAID’s AMORE Project aims to provide electricity to more than 400 remote and conflict-affected villages in Mindanao, and is a public-private alliance between USAID, Mirant Philippines and the Philippine Government. AMORE has provided renewable (solar or micro-hydro) energy to more than 350 villages in Mindanao. During the tour of Barangay Pangapuyan, the AMORE project announced that Mirant Philippines is donating an additional $2 million to the program.
The American people are committed to helping improve the quality of education for students in Mindanao, and to working with parents and community organizations to bring more resources to the schools. Ambassador Kenney officially turned over more than 42,000 books to school libraries in Western Mindanao during a ceremony at the Zamboanga State College of Marine Science & Technology. These books were donated under USAID’s Education Awareness Support Effort (EASE) program and will go to more than 130 schools, allowing students to have access to encyclopedias, dictionaries, literature, short stories, and more.
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