Balikatan 2020 Concept Development Conference Leaders Call on Consul General in Hawaii
From left: AFP Liaison Officer to United States Indo-Pacific Command Colonel Joseph P. Archog, Philippine Consulate General in Honolulu Consul Roberto T. Bernardo, Deputy Consul General Angelica C. Escalona, Consul General to Honolulu Joselito A. Jimeno, Balikatan Exercise Director Lieutenant General (Lt. Gen.) Gilbert Gapay, and Philippine Army Executive Officer Colonel (Col.) Erwin Rommel Lamzon. (Honolulu PCG photo)
HONOLULU 05 July 2019 — Thirty-one members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) met with their American counterparts in Hawaii for the Balikatan 2020 Concept Development Conference (CDC) on 09-14 June 2019. AFP Southern Luzon Command Commander and Exercise Director for Balikatan Lieutenant General (Lt. Gen.) Gilbert Gapay led the delegation.
With Philippine Army Executive Officer Colonel Erwin Rommel Lamzon, and Major Ernan Capulong, Lt. Gen. Gapay paid a courtesy visit to Consul General to Honolulu Joselito A. Jimeno on 12 June 2019.
Lt. Gen. Gapay said that the focus of Balikatan 2020 will be on combatting transnational crime, with particular emphasis on interoperability with United States troops. He said that this is the 36th iteration of Balikatan, an annual U.S.-Philippine military exercise designed for mutual defense.
The Balikatan 2020 will be expanded in duration and complexity, taking into consideration what Lt. Gen.Gapay described as “VUCA” or Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous environment. END
Lt. Gen. Gapay presents Consul General Jimeno with a token from Balikatan. Earlier, Consul General Jimeno presented Lt. Gen. Gapay with a “challenge coin” or token traditionally exchanged with military visitors. (Honolulu PCG photo)
From left: Col. Joseph P. Archog, Consul Bernardo, Deputy Consul General Escalona, Consul General Jimeno, Lt. Gen. Gapay, Col. Lamzon, and Major Ernan Capulong. (Honolulu PCG photo)
For more information, visit https://www.honolulupcg.dfa.gov.ph, https://www.philippineshonolulu.org or https://www.facebook.com/PHinHonolulu/.