The Office of Civil Defense – Region 9 (OCD-IX) lauded the Philippine Army’s 53rd Infantry “Matapat” Battalion (53IB) for its extremely valuable and noteworthy services rendered in the field of COVID-19 response as an indispensible facilitator of the “Regional One Oxygen Command Center,” particularly in the mobilization and safeguarding of medical grade oxygen from and to medical facilties of the Zamboanga Peninsula and oxygen refilling stations.
The 53IB was also praised by OCD-IX for being helpful in disaster response in the “Response for Areas Devastated by Typhoon Odette,” particularly in the conduct of RDRRMC-OCX IX’s Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response Missions (HADRs).
Lt. Col. Jo-ar Herrera, Commanding Officer of 53IB, expressed his gratitude to OCD-IX for the recognition.
“In behalf of the troops of 53IB, I express my utmost gratitude to OCD-IX for this recognition. This commendation will further inspire and motivate our troops to do their jobs better,” said Lt. Col. Herrera.
