The Philippine government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs, hailed the Filipino United Nations peacekeepers deployed in conflict areas all over the world.

DFA Secretary Albert del Rosario on Tuesday led the commemoration of the International Day of United Nations (UN) Peacekeepers to honor the memory of fallen Filipino peacekeepers and to pay tribute to those still serving in conflict areas overseas.

"Today, we remember the fallen — the close to three thousand men and women from all over the world who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of peace," said del Rosario, who is also chair of the National Council for United Nations Peace Operations of the Philippines.

To note, there are more than 120,000 peacekeepers currently serving 17 UN mission areas.

At present, the Philippines has 922 military and police personnel serving as military observers, staff officers, police officers and members of formed contingents in Cote d'Ivoire, Darfur, the Golan Heights, Haiti, Kashmir, Liberia, South Sudan and Timor-Leste.

To date, the country has lost a total of 22 military, police and civilian personnel while serving in UN peace operations.

The latest fatalities are Joseph Ubaldo of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and Charles Uy of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). The two were among the 112 men and women peacekeepers who died in the line of duty last year as a result of acts of violence, accidents and disease.

The Philippines first took part in UN peacekeeping operations in 1963 after President Diosdado Macapagal approved the deployment of 9th Tactical Air Force Squadron to support UN operations in the Congo. Filipino peacekeepers have since then served with the UN in Cambodia, Iraq, Haiti, Afghanistan, Burundi, Kosovo, Georgia and Nepal.

The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers is celebrated every 29th day of May.*