US Peace Corps Director Aaron Williams will be in the Philippines from November 1 to 8 as part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the partnership between the Philippines and the corps.
A statement issued by the US Embassy in Manila quoted Williams as saying that his visit aims “to celebrate the great success of this partnership and to recognize the joint achievements of Filipinos and Americans since the establishment of Peace Corps by President [John F.] Kennedy in 1961.”
Williams said over 8,000 Peace Corps volunteers have served in the Philippines since 1961. These volunteers have been assigned in the development sector like education, agriculture, health, nutrition, small business, fisheries and forestry. “They have touched the lives of millions of Filipinos as teachers, colleagues and friends,” he said.
The US has currently 235 Peace Corps volunteers who work in schools as co-teachers and teacher trainers and in children’s facilities teaching vocational and life skills. At the local level, these volunteers work in coastal resources management and environmental programs with fishermen’s communities.
Williams, who was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2009, oversees programs of peace corps volunteers in 70 countries worldwide. He will join the US Agency for International Development-Peace Corps celebration on November 4 which will be highlighted by a book launch written by one of the peace corps volunteer who stayed in the Philippines.
Earlier, Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs of the US State Department, visited the Philippines to push for continuing bilateral cooperation with the Philippines amid recent tensions in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao.
Campbell met with senior Philippine officials to discuss bilateral relations, regional events, and upcoming meetings including the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders Meeting to be hosted by the United States in Hawaii, and the East Asia Summit and the US-Association of Southeast Asian Nations Leaders Meeting hosted by Indonesia in Bali.
In his meeting with the Armed Forces chief of staff, Gen. Eduardo Oban Jr., Campbell emphasized the need to seek a multilateral and peaceful approach to address the increasing tensions in the West Philippines Sea.
The US official also met with Presidential Peace Advisor Teresita Deles and peace panel chairman Marvic Leonen to get updates on the situation in Mindanao and the proposed negotiated solution with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
“We fully support the Philippine government’s efforts to bring security and stability to the southern Philippines, including through the ongoing peace process,” said Campbell.
