MAY 13, 2026 – Across five humanitarian and civic assistance sites in the Philippines, U.S. service members, Armed Forces of the Philippines personnel, local leaders, barangay rural health workers and community members worked together during Exercise Balikatan 2026 to strengthen community resilience through health care, education support, infrastructure projects and civil-military engagements.
The effort, led by the Combined Joint Civil-Military Operations Task Force, brought together cooperative health engagements, civil-military engagements and engineering civic action programs as part of a combined approach to support local needs and strengthen partnerships between the U.S. military, the AFP and communities across the Philippines.
Across the five sites, U.S. and AFP personnel worked alongside local leaders, barangay rural health workers and community partners to support medical care, dental services, health education, classroom technology, infrastructure projects and community engagements tailored to local priorities.
Cooperative health engagements were one part of the broader effort, bringing U.S. and AFP medical teams together with barangay rural health workers to provide care and education to residents. Local health workers helped connect residents with medical teams, supported patient flow and provided community knowledge that helped the combined team better understand local needs.
Throughout the exercise, medical personnel registered more than 2,000 patients, conducted more than 2,400 medical and dental checkups, and performed more than 900 dental procedures. Medical teams also provided dental cleanings, behavioral health consultations and treatment for various health needs.
The engagements also included 35 cumulative hours of training, including basic life support, trauma care and behavioral health instruction for local participants, allowing U.S., AFP and local health personnel to exchange knowledge while supporting the communities they served.
“When I think about this mission, it is not just about what we accomplished on the ground,” said U.S. Navy Cmdr. Meghan Ginn, preventive medicine officer, Health Support Services, I Marine Expeditionary Force, and humanitarian civic assistance medical lead. “It is about the relationships we built, the trust we earned and the fact that we were able to work alongside the AFP, local leaders and health workers to make a real difference in these communities. That is what this whole experience has been about, coming together and strengthening that bond for the future.”
Engineering civic action programs were another major part of the combined effort. U.S. and AFP engineers worked together on construction projects designed to support education, community services and disaster relief preparedness, helping build local resilience beyond the exercise.
In Barangay Tinib, Casiguran, Aurora, engineers supported construction of a schoolroom facility to expand classroom space and improve learning conditions for local students. In San Vicente, Sta. Ana, Cagayan, teams worked on an 8-by-8-meter library to provide a dedicated space for books, learning and educational resources. In Barangay Tibulao, Carmen, Davao del Norte, engineers supported construction of a multipurpose hall designed to support community use and strengthen local disaster relief preparedness.
Additional projects included a two-classroom schoolhouse in Villa Reyes, San Narciso, Quezon, and another two-classroom schoolhouse in New Ibajay, El Nido, Palawan, both designed to provide additional classroom space for growing student populations.
“What we did here was not just about providing support,” explained U.S. Marine Corps 1st Lt. Trevon D. Harris Sr., 2nd platoon commander, 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group. “We were able to work side by side with our AFP partners and the local communities, and that kind of teamwork builds trust. The buildings matter, but the relationships behind them are what will last.”
Civil-military engagements helped reinforce those efforts by supporting schools and local communities with classroom technology, educational materials and other resources requested through local coordination. These engagements included items such as laptops, science textbooks, televisions, cords and solar equipment intended to support learning environments and help communities build capacity beyond the exercise.
“This partnership works because we share the same purpose – serving the people” Philippine Army Lt. Col. Randival Dizon, chaplain, 2nd Infantry Division
“The connections we build with one another help us better support the communities we are here to serve.”
For the Combined Joint Civil-Military Operations Task Force, the final site in Carmen closed a mission that linked medical care, construction projects and community engagement into one coordinated effort. At each location, barangay rural health workers and local leaders helped ground the effort in the needs of the community, ensuring support was coordinated with the people who serve residents every day.
In Barangay Tibulao, the multipurpose hall served as a final example of that approach, connecting engineering support to local disaster relief preparedness and giving the community a space that can support future needs. Together, the five sites demonstrated how combined civil-military teams can support local needs, strengthen community resilience and deepen cooperation between the U.S. military, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, local health workers and the communities they serve.
“These projects were built through combined planning with the AFP, local leaders and the communities themselves,” said U.S. Marine Corps Col. Michael Aldridge, commanding officer of 1st Civil Affairs Group. “To me, this is about choosing partnership over pride. It is about putting people, mission and community first. That is what Balikatan looks like on the ground.”
Balikatan is a longstanding annual exercise between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and U.S. military that represents the strength of our alliance, improves our capable combined force, and demonstrates our commitment to regional peace and prosperity.
1st Lt. Brandon Daniels
I Marine Expeditionary Force