MANILA, Philippines – The mayor of Caloocan felt lucky that the sailors of the USS Carl Vinson, the supercarrier that carried and dropped the body of Osama Bin Laden to the sea, have chosen the city as the venue for their mission activities.
“We are truly fortunate to have been chosen by the USS Carl Vinson and the USAID, to be visited and made part of their program,” Caloocan Mayor Recom Echiverri said in a statement e-mailed Sunday.
Representatives of USS Carl Vinson will set foot in the city on Tuesday (May 17) and lead a program at Garlic Covered Court and Ana Health Center in the city’s Barangay 28, according to the mayor.
The mission activities are part of the program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under their mission director, Gloria Steele.
The sailors will paint up the health center and give away equipment to the five barangay (villages) in the city.
On the side, the team will also launch an information campaign on “cough manners” and the TB DOTS (Tuberculosis Directly Observed Treatment, Short course)
After this, crew members of the warship will proceed to Garlic Covered Court and will compete against local residents in a “basketball exhibition game,” according to Echiverri.
Senior Supt. Jude Santos, the city police chief, assured the US servicemen of a safe and secure visit saying he had ordered his men to intensify patrol and police visibility especially in the areas where the sailors would go.
USS Carl Vinson, escorted by three other vessels, docked in Manila Bay on Sunday for a four-day mission activities in the country.