BALIKATAN 2008 IN BALABAC ISLAND. Students from Balabac National High School greet U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission Paul Jones and his party who visited on March 3 to look at the completed Balikatan engineering projects in the island. The projects, which included construction of two new classrooms and repairs on old school buildings, were part of the 24th annual Balikatan humanitarian assistance program conducted in Mindanao and Palawan and elsewhere in the Philippines. Approximately 2,500 island residents also received free medical clinic and dental care. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communications Specialist Second Class Joshua J. Wahl)
