Flaming reminder

A tragic event marked the fourth of July in the Philippine islands. Fifty-two persons, mostly soldiers, died in a plane crash in Sulu while others were injured.

All passengers — 96 in total, as of a Monday report at 6 p.m. — have been accounted for, an Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson said. Many of the military personnel on board who perished were on their first assignment, it was also reported.

News sources cite that the accident comes soon after a Black Hawk helicopter crashed last June during a night-time training flight. All six on board (three pilots and three airmen) died.

Two months before, an MG-520 attack chopper crashed in the central Philippines as well, killing its pilot.

January of this year, another helicopter crashed in the south — a “refurbished UH-1H Vietnam War-era Huey helicopter” — also crashed. Seven soldiers were killed.

The latest accident is the fourth involving military aircraft this year. That’s just over six months that these crashes occurred.

Since investigations have yet to be done or are ongoing, we cannot say whether the accidents happened because of old or defective aircrafts, human error, weather or even an attack.

The C-130 was newly acquired but it was a secondhand plane. It was officially declared by the Department of National Defense (DND) on 20 January 2021 “as the first of two planes ‘granted by the US government through Security Cooperation Assistance,’” Rappler reported.

Back in February, US Chargé d’Affaires John Law had “expressed optimism the aircraft would be a ‘steady workhorse for the Philippine Air Force for years to come.’”

The plane had been quite useful for heavy airlifting during Covid-19 operations in this pandemic.

It is too early to say what could have caused the government’s P1.54 billion investment on the C-130 Hercules to go up in smoke somewhere in Sulu at this point in time.

The DND is focusing on search, retrieval and rescue operations, just as it should. Yet speculations are arising from the debris, just as expected as well.

The AFP’s modernization program had been prioritized by

“Series of aircraft accidents is a flaming reminder to the military brass way up to the Commanderin-Chief to look closely at its process and every little detail.

this administration as well as those before it.

Republic Act 7898, the AFP Modernization Act, was first made into law under the presidency of Fidel V. Ramos.

The law provides for what AFP may need so “it can effectively and fully perform its constitutional mandate to uphold the sovereignty and preserve the patrimony of the Republic of the Philippines.”

Main goals of the program include development and reforms to create a “professional,” “self-reliant and credible strategic armed force...”

Of course, “acquisition and upgrading of appropriate technology and equipment” are included, and this has been why a major chunk of the national budget is always allocated for such investments.

The series of aircraft accidents is a flaming reminder to the military brass way up to the Commanderin-Chief to look closely at its process and every little detail — including the mandate of the law that gives the AFP modernization its wheels — and figure out how and where it is in dire need of change.

The lives of so many soldiers, old and new, as well as the security of our nation in this rapidly changing world, are at stake.

“Latest accident is the fourth involving military aircraf t this year. That’s just over six months that these crashes occurred.