Peace Corps to stay in Philippines: U.S. Embassy

Hello there! Seems it's your first visit on Philippines Travel Blog. Post a comment and Win a Jansport, Hedgren or Timbuktu bag from Jansport!. You can stay up to date by subscribing to our RSS Feed or even receive updates in your e-mail.

Peace Corp volunteers

Originally uploaded by heybej.

The United States Embassy in Manila said Wednesday the reported death of an American Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines will not affect the group’s presence in the country, but said the safety and security of its members are a priority.

Embassy spokesman Matthew Lussenhop said there are 137 Peace Corps members in the Philippines and there is no need to issue a travel advisory as the Philippines and U.S. authorities have yet to identify the remains of a woman found in Ifugao province, northern Philippines, by Philippine soldiers.

Lussenhop said U.S. security officials and local forensic experts could not yet determine if the body found Wednesday belongs to 40-year-old peace corps volunteer Julia Campbell, who went missing on April 8.

“The body was found in that area. This moment, experts from the Philippines and the U.S. are at the discovery site to determine the identity and circumstance, but we have no further details,” he said.

Philippine government forces said they found Wednesday the body Campbell, which was buried in a shallow grave “with her feet protruding.”

Philippine police said earlier Campbell could have fallen from hills and denied reports she was attacked by leftwing guerrillas.

Source: Xinhua