16 September 2013 - Officers of the Guam National Guard, headed by Col. David B. Riano and Col. George L. Charfauros, visited the Philippine Consulate General on September 12 to provide a briefing on the achievements of and future events lined up for the State Partnership Program (SPP) between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Guam National Guard (GNG).

Col. Riano and Maj. Jay Castro conducted the briefing for the officers of the Consulate, headed by Consul General Bayani V. Mangibin.  Col. Riano started the presentation by providing a brief background on the history of the SPP, stating that the program began in 2001, focusing on civil military operations, professional development and humanitarian assistance/disaster response (HADR).  In 2012, the program also expanded to include HADR subject matter expertise exchanges (SMEE) in partnership with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and, this year, the SPP also became a sub-committee within the RP-US Mutual Defense Board. 

Maj. Castro, on the other hand, discussed the achievements thus far of the SPP, stating that from 2009 to 2012, the SPP has completed 27 events, which included medical and dental missions, engineer subject matter exchanges, senior staff exchanges and professional development trainings.  For this year, the SPP has already completed 11 out of the 13 projects planned, with the remaining two projects scheduled to be completed in the next few months.  For 2014, a total of 18 projects have been pre-approved for the program. 

As a result of these projects, a total of 50,859 services have been performed by the SPP's medical and dental missions, which also included minor surgeries and, beginning 2011, optical services.  From 2006 to the present, the SPP's engineering projects have included the construction/renovation of 7 schools and one cafeteria.  He emphasized that the SPP's engineering projects usually prioritizes schools because these are also used as evacuation centers during calamities.

Consul General Mangibin expressed his appreciation for the briefing and updates provided by the Guam National Guard regarding the SPP.  He likewise conveyed appreciation for the assistance being provided by the program, particularly in relation to disaster response trainings that have contributed to the noticeable increase in the AFP's and the country's disaster response and management capabilities, as well as the projects that directly make an impact in various communities. END