Business as usual for troops on quarantine island

MANILA, Philippines - Starting today, the Filipino peacekeepers who arrived from the Ebola-stricken West African state of Liberia will start observing routine military activities to keep them busy while they are quarantined at the Philippine Navy’s new facility on Caballo Island in Cavite.

The routine duties will start with regular morning calls, morning exercises, sports activities and gardening to help transform Caballo into a fully green island, according to Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc.

The Philippine Navy has provided coconut seedlings for the soldiers to plant in the island.

The peacekeepers will also cook their own food out of the supplies that would be provided by the AFP Joint Task Group Liberia led by Capt. Luzviminda Camacho.

So far, none of the 108 peacekeepers has shown any symptom of the deadly Ebola virus disease.

Before returning to the Philippines from Monrovia, the troops were given a clean bill of health by the United Nations after undergoing screen tests.

The soldiers arrived late Wednesday afternoon aboard a UN-chartered flight at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City and were immediately transported to Sangley Point in Cavite for their trip to Caballo Island aboard a Navy ship.

The ship arrived at Caballo Island at 1 a.m. yesterday, but the troops only disembarked from the vessel at 6 a.m.

“They started disembarkation using two Landing Craft Vehicles in going to the island. At around 7:20 a.m., all the peacekeepers were in Caballo Island,” said Lt. Commander Marineth Domingo of the Navy’s Public Affairs Office.