By ROY C. MABASA
The U.S. Peace Corps has deployed its largest group of American volunteers to the Philippines since the COVID-19 pandemic, with 55 new arrivals landing in Manila on July 14 to support community-based initiatives in education, youth development, and environmental protection across Luzon and the Visayas.
The incoming cohort—comprising 48 long-term Peace Corps Volunteers and seven short-term Response Volunteers—raises the total number of currently serving personnel in the Philippines to 140, the highest since 2020.
Over the next two years, the Peace Corps Volunteers will co-teach English in public elementary and secondary schools, facilitate youth development programs at government-accredited shelters, and work with local governments to establish marine protected areas and bolster coastal resource management.
Meanwhile, Response Volunteers will undertake specialized 7- to 12-month assignments focused on disaster risk reduction, solid waste management, and educational capacity-building in partnership with Philippine government agencies and non-governmental organizations.
“Their joint arrival symbolizes our renewed momentum since the pandemic and underscores our deepening collaboration with local partner institutions and Filipino communities,” said Marguerite Roy, Peace Corps Philippines Country Director. “I look forward to seeing how each Volunteer will forge meaningful relationships and contribute to community-led progress.”
The new volunteers, aged 22 to 67, will be deployed to 21 provinces including Benguet, Ilocos Norte, La Union, Pangasinan, Bataan, Pampanga, Camarines Sur, Iloilo, and Leyte.
Before deployment, all participants will undergo 11 weeks of intensive language, technical, and cultural training.
Donald James Gawe, executive director of the Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency, described the volunteers as “builders of hope and catalysts of change,” and expressed optimism that they would successfully complete their service and make a lasting impact in their assigned communities.
This batch marks the 282nd deployment of Peace Corps Volunteers and the 55th group of Response Volunteers to the Philippines, where the Peace Corps has maintained a continuous presence since 1961.
The Philippines hosts the second oldest Peace Corps program in the world, with more than 9,500 Americans having served in partnership with Filipino communities over the past six decades.
