MANILIA, U.S. Embassy in the Philippines --
Members of the U.S. military and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) recently completed the construction of a health clinic in Barangay Taysan in Legazpi City, Albay as part of the multilateral exercise Pacific Partnership 2021.

U.S. Navy Seabees with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3, U.S. Marines with 9th Engineer Support Battalion (ESB), and AFP Seabees with the Naval Combat Engineering Brigade worked together to build the 5-by-6-meter health clinic. The newly constructed facility will provide medical care to 200 families and will be accessible to 16,000 residents living around Barangay Taysan, where typhoons and other natural disasters are often experienced.

Pacific Partnership 2021 was the first opportunity for the Naval Construction Force, 9th ESB, and the AFP to work together on a project since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Apart from enhancing interoperability, U.S. military and AFP service members who participated in the construction emphasized the importance of working together on projects like this to help provide facilities and services to local communities.

U.S. Navy Builder 2nd Class Jacob Castillo from Waukesha, Wisconsin said, “Executing this mission with our allies brought forth some of the best work ethic and dedication to the mission I have ever witnessed in the Navy. The lessons I learned here will have a lasting impression in my life.”

“We belong to different countries, but working together for one mission is very satisfying to me. It’s a very good experience to work with the U.S. Seabees and I thank them for the memories,” said Philippine Navy Builder 1st Class Francis Mark Fernandez from Agoo, La Union.

The U.S. Navy Seabees from U.S. Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3 are deployed across the Indo-Pacific region conducting high-quality construction to support U.S. allied and partner nations, deter aggression, and work toward a free and open Indo-Pacific.