DFA: Pinoy UN peacekeepers earn Ban Ki-moon's praise

Filipinos serving as United Nations peacekeepers received praise from no less than UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Saturday.

The DFA said Ban thanked DFA Secretary Albert del Rosario last Sept. 26, during a meeting with Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers.

"Mr. Ban publicly commended the Philippine government for maintaining Filipino peacekeepers in the United Nations Disengagement Force in the Golan Heights (UNDOF) despite the two kidnapping incidents in March and May this year," it said in a news release posted on its website.

It also said Ban described the Philippine peacekeepers as "being extremely courageous in performing an outstanding necessary task."

Earlier this year, the DFA raised the issue of safety and security for the Filipino peacekeepers in the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan Heights following two abduction incidents this year.

At the time, del Rosario met with UN Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations Herve Ladsous and other key UN officials where he stressed the conditions set by the Philippine government for its continued engagement in UNDOF. — LBG, GMA News