During its existence the Philippine group in Vietnam made certain tangible contributions that will bear listing. Under the Engineering Civic Action Program it constructed 116.4 kilometers of road, 11 bridges, 169 buildings, 10 towers, 194 culverts, and 54 refugee centers. It also cleared 778 hectares of forest land; converted 2,225 hectares to community projects; and turned 10 hectares into demonstration farms. Under the Miscellaneous Environmental Improvement Program it rehabilitated, repaired, or engaged in minor construction work on 2 airstrips; 94 kilometers of roads; 47 buildings; 12 outposts; and 245 wells. It also trained 32 persons in use and maintenance of equipment; 138 in health education; and gave vocational training to 217. It resettled 1,065 families, distributed 162,623 pounds of food boxes, and sponsored 14 hamlets. Under the Medical Civic Action Program, the Philippine Group contributed 724,715 medical missions, 218,609 dental missions, and 35,844 surgical missions.
In discussing the value of the Philippine Civic Action Group during its stay in South Vietnam, President Thieu remarked: "PHILCAGV has greatly contributed to the revolutionary development program of the Republic of Vietnam. Their untiring efforts also helped bring under government control many people previously living under Communist rule and... [gave] them confidence in the national cause."
Pacification Efforts
The pacification efforts of the Philippine Civic Action Group, Vietnam, are impossible to separate from a general history of the unit since pacification was an integral part, if not the whole, of the group's mission. There are certain aspects of the day-to-day operations, however, that can be clearly identified as pacification-oriented and as such can be separated from the basic study.
The Philippine Civic Action Group, Vietnam, came into being when the Philippine Congress passed a bill that authorized the government to send a contingent of engineer construction, medical, and rural development workers to South Vietnam. Briefly, their mission was to assist the Republic of Vietnam by the construction, rehabilitation, and development of public works, utilities, and buildings, and by offering technical advice on socio-economic activities.
To accomplish this mission, a 2,000-man force was organized with an engineer construction battalion as its nucleus. Other units included a headquarters company with five civic action teams, a headquarters service company, a security battalion, and
