24 June 2015 - Newly appointed Hawaii National Guard Adjutant General, Brigadier General Arthur Logan USAR, welcomed Brigadier General Rodolfo Santiago AFP, Commandant, Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Command & General Staff College (AFPCGSC), other AFP officials  and  Philippine Consul General to Hawaii Gina Jamoralin to the headquarters of the Hawaii National Guard in  Honolulu. The other AFP officials were BGen Rolando Picar AFP, Chief, AFP Resource Management Office; Colonel Doroteo Jose Jalandoni PN(M) (GSC), Chief, Joint & Combined Training Center; Major Noel Caibigan PA, J5 rep;  LTC Nobel EumarAbarra PAF (GSC), J8 rep; LTC Ferdinand Llantero USMC, MARFORPAC rep; Capt. Dela Cruz PN(GSC), AFP LO to USPACOM; and  LTC Rolando Orengo, Asst. AFP Liaison to PACOM.

Both sides discussed ways to strengthen the State Partnership Program between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Hawaii National Guard, including more training opportunities for reservists in the Philippines under the AFP Reserve Force Development Program. BGen Santiago said that the AFP aims to strengthen multi-national coordination in disaster response and preparedness to include both civilian and military response. General Logan agreed on the importance of expanding the Hawaii / Philippines State Partnership Program which also complements the Guam / Philippines State Partnership Program.

The Hawaii National Guard officials also acknowledge the importance of closer cooperation between the National Guard and the local communities, including the large Filipino community in Hawaii and the Philippine Consulate in promoting disaster preparedness and post-disaster resilience.

After the call, Philippine officials were shown the Hawaii National Guard Operations Center and were briefed on current activities. END