The US Embassy said following their three months of intensive Filipino language and technical training, the Peace Corps volunteers will stay in the country until 2009. The new batch, the 266th group of US Peace Corps Volunteers to serve in the country, arrived last May 12.

"This group of volunteers will work with U.S. Peace Corps development programs in education, coastal resources management. and children, youth, and family," the Embassy said in a statement.

The group will add to the achievements of the more than 8,000 Peace Corps volunteers who have served in the country since October, 1961, it added.

The volunteers are expected to teach English and computer technology, along with local teachers in public or private high schools, universities, and colleges. They will also work with local government units to develop, implement and monitor coastal resource management plans.

During their stay, the group will also teach literacy and life skills to needy children and youth, and improve organizational capacity in accredited centers of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

"The U.S. Peace Corps has enjoyed a close and fruitful partnership with the Philippines for almost 46 years. The Philippines has become a very popular place for Peace Corps service not only because of the beauty of the country, but also because of the close relationships and partnerships formed, and the willingness of the Philippine people and organizations to work closely with Peace Corps Volunteers," the US embassy said.

The US Embassy, along with US Peace Corps, lamented the death of 40- year US Peace Corps volunteer Julia Campbell, whose body was found near Barangay Batad, Banaue town in Ifugao province last April 18.

Campbell was reported missing last April 11 after her failure to show up for several appointments.

She was last seen on Sunday, April 8, in the Banaue area and reportedly planned to hike in a hilly area near Batad, 1.5 kilometers east of Banaue town, near the world-famous rice terraces..

Campbell served in ecological and educational projects in Southern Luzon since began her Peace Corps service in the Philippines in March, 2005.