MALAYA: DFA to ensure benefits for kin of UN peacekeeper

By ANTHONY IAN CRUZ
Malaya
Oct. 30, 2007

THE Department of Foreign Affairs on Monday confirmed that malaria killed Lt. Col. Renerio Batalla, the United Nations peacekeeper who died in Sudan last Oct. 24, which was also UN Day.

DFA spokesperson Claro Cristobal said the Philippine Permanent Mission to the UN led by Ambassador Hilario Davide is now coordinating with UN authorities to ensure that Batalla’s family receives whatever benefits are due him as a member of the UN peacekeeping force.

Batalla’s remains arrived yesterday and were given military honors upon arrival at the Villamor Air Base.

He will be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani on Nov. 5.

Batalla was one of the 13-member Philippine humanitarian delegation to the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) that oversees the implementation of the 2005 ceasefire agreement between the Sudanese government and rebel groups.

A member of the Philippine Military Academy of Class 1990, Batalla is survived by a wife and four children.

A report by the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) said that so far, 15 Filipino military, police, and civilian peacekeepers have died of various causes, mostly illnesses and accidents, while serving in UN missions. Only one of the 15 deaths, however, was directly caused by hostile action.

Despite the dangers, 667 Filipino soldiers and policemen continue to serve in UN missions in Afghanistan, Ivory Coast, Georgia, Haiti, Kosovo, Liberia, Nepal, Sudan and Timor Leste. They get $1,028 a month in pay and allowances; $303 supplementary pay for specialists; $68 for personal clothing, gear and equipment; and $5 for personal weaponry.