Philippine Military Units Finish Simulation Exercises In Mindanao

Philippine Air Force’s Tactical Operation Group Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Dionisio Robles, (right), congratulates 73 participants from Special Forces, Scout Rangers and other military units that participated in a 5-day academics and simulation exercises of Air to Ground Operation training on Saturday, February 21, 2009 conducted by mobile training team 3rd Air Division of Philippine Air Force held at the Army’s 6th Infantry Division in Maguindanao province. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Mark Navales)

Children's Group Releases Images Of Air Strike Casualties In Southern Philippines

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 11, 2008) – The independent Kabiba Alliance for Children's Concerns in Mindanao has released Wednesday photos of civilian casualties during a military air strikes in the Maguindanao town of Datu Piang where security forces assaulted Moro rebels.

The air strikes on Monday killed seven civilians, including children, according to local officials and President Gloria Arroyo has ordered an investigation into the incident.

The Philippine military blamed the Moro Islamic Liberation Front for the fighting, saying, rebels attacked a chopper in the village of Tee, an allegation denied by the group.

US Navy Ship Locates Wreckage Of Crashed Philippine Cargo Plane

The USNS John McDonnel off Davao City in the southern Philippines. The survey ship has located the fuselage of the crashed Philippine military C130 plane lying 160 meters in the Davao Gulf. (Photo submitted by Romy Bwaga)

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 5, 2008) – A US Navy ship helping in the search for a downed Philippine military cargo plane has found, what officials say, is believed to be the fuselage of the aircraft lying 160 meters in Davao Gulf.

The C130 cargo plane crashed at sea on August 25 after it took off from Davao City on its way to the central Philippines. The military said nine people perished from the crash, including two army soldiers. Senior Philippine Air Force officials said material failure and pilot errors are likely to be the main cause of crash.

Philippine Navy Capt. Rosauro Arnel Gonzales, the head of the special Task Force Hercules, said the US Navy survey ship USNS John McDonnel found the exact location of the wreckage just off the coastal village of Bucana.“We will do our best to retrieve the plane. We want to know what really caused the crash,” he said. (Romy Bwaga)

Photo: Body Part From Crashed Philippine C130 Plane In Southern Philippines

Philippine soldiers carefully remove a severed foot from one of the victims of a crashed military C130 cargo plane in Davao City. The military said nine people perished from the crash, including two army soldiers.  Senior Philippine Air Force officials said material failure and pilot errors are likely to be the main cause of the August 25, 2008 sea crash. (Photo submitted by Romy Bwaga)

Girl Who Saw How Soldiers Abused Boy Is Herself Under Threat In Southern Philippines

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 29, 2008) – Two Philippine Air Force soldiers accused of maltreating a boy have allegedly threatened a witness to the crime in Davao City in Mindanao.

The family of a ten-year old girl, who witnessed how the soldiers burned the boy with cigarettes, has sought police protection. They claimed the two soldiers - Sgt. Manuel Doria and A2C Rex Dimaculangan – allegedly threatened to detain the girl if she testifies in court against them.

Police said the two servicemen were charged with slight physical injuries at a local court. It said the victim’s family accused the soldiers of torturing the six-year old boy on July 14 while he was playing near the air force base. The soldiers were drank when the incident happened.

Human rights advocates urged the military to dismiss the two abusive soldiers and for Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Rep. Prospero Nograles to act on the welfare and safety of both the victim and the witness. (Romy Bwaga)

Davao Officials Allay Fears Of Contamination, Poisoning After Plane Crashed At Sea

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 28, 2008) – Local officials on Thursday allayed fears of poisoning after a Philippine Air Force C130 cargo plane crashed at sea off Davao City.

Local council man Leonardo Avila said even fishes are safe for human consumption as the military continued searching for the ill-fated aircraft that went down on shortly after take off late Monday at the Davao City International Airport, killing all 9 passengers.

Avila, chairman of the City Council’s committee on environment, said no oil spill or contamination also was noticed from the site where the plane crashed. “If it is an oil tanker, then have something to fear about,” he said.

Divers and villagers have recovered body parts and debris of the plane, but Avila said there were no reports that fishes have eaten human flesh.

Col. Isagani Silva, commander of the Philippine Air Force Tactical Operations Group-11, said they are still investigating what caused the tragedy.

Witnesses claimed to have seen the plane crashed after a lightning strike, but Silva said the air craft had a lightning arrester, a device which is connected in an electric wiring system to protect the system from damage from lightning or any other abnormally high surge of voltage.

“The lightning rod attached to the aircraft will protect the airplane if it is hit by lightning,” Silva said.

”We are also looking into human error, mechanical troubles and other angles as cause of the crash,” he said.

Philippine Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Pedrito Cadungog said the aircraft was piloted by Captain Adrian de Dios and Major Manuel Sambrano and was carrying seven crewmen and on their way to Iloilo province in central Philippines to pick up members of the Presidential Security Group after Monday's visit by President Gloria Arroyo.

The Philippine Air Force has only two ageing C130 aircrafts in their fleet of mostly old OV-10 fighter planes and UH-1H helicopters. (Romy Bwaga)

Philippine Air Force Official Discloses Cause Of Crashed Plane

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua / August 27, 2008) - A senior Philippine Air Force official on Wednesday said material failure and pilot errors are likely to be the main cause of a military plane's crash soon after takeoff Monday evening, leaving 9 people on board missing.

Air Force Chief Lt. General Pedrito Cadungog said investigators are also looking into "weather phenomenon" as there was an eyewitness who said there was a lighting strike.

But he was also saying that the plane was not likely to have been sabotaged and there was no indication of an explosion before the crash.

The C-130 plane, acquired in 1983 through the United States financing program, had taken off from the Davao City airport at around 08:00 p.m. Monday night local time and was on its way to Iloilo City to fetch personnel from Presidential Security Group. It had two pilots and seven crew members.

By late Wednesday, rescuers have yet found any sign of survival at the suspected site of the crash. Body parts, plane parts and debris were recovered at the sea surface.

Navy Captain Rosauro Gonzales said the wreckage of the C-130 was located 2.5 nautical miles southwest of Samal island and at the depth of 600 feet under water, a distance too deep for rescuers to dive.

Cadungog said that salvaging the wreckage of the aircraft may not be only difficult but also very impractical.

"Basically, we have no visual (of the wreckage). Our divers have not seen it," said Gonzales, adding that the present search is presently concentrated on the debris and body parts.

Gonzales said rescuers have recovered more body parts in the second day of the rescue operation. "They are just inside black plastic bags, the body parts. We also recovered a seat of the aircraft in the area...We have no recovery of body or even a torso, they are all small body parts," he said.

C-130s provides the military a heavy-lift capability and are a big help in offensives, specifically in the transport of government troops and logistics, and in the transport of relief goods to disaster-stricken areas.

Philippine Military Cargo Plane Crashes At Sea

An undated photo of one of two aging Philippine Air Force cargo aircraft prepares to land in the southern island of Sulu. The Philippine Air Force on says one one of its C130 cargo plane crashed at sea near the Davao Gulf off Mindanao after it took off from the Davao International Airport before midnight Monday. On Tuesday, coastal villagers recovered debris from the plane, including a pair of military boots, an aircraft manual and some body parts. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 26, 2008) - A Philippine Air Force C130 transport plane crashed at sea shortly after take off in Davao City in Mindanao.

Aircraft debris had been recovered on Tuesday near the Davao Gulf where the military launched a massive search for the ageing aircraft. Among the recovered debris was a pair of combat boots, aircraft manuals and pieces of metals believed from the skin of the C130 plane. It was not immediately known if there was any survivor.

The aircraft, built in 1971, had lost contact after taking off from Davao International Airport shortly before midnight Monday.

Philippine Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Pedrito Cadungog said: “We are still verifying really as to what transpired because this is something very unusual. The aircraft and the pilots were all okay before take off and everything was normal until that time.”

The aircraft, piloted by Captain Adrian de Dios and Major Manuel Sambrano, was carrying seven crewmen and on their way to Iloilo province in central Philippines to pick up members of the Presidential Security Group after Monday's visit by President Gloria Arroyo.

Television reports identified the crew as Sergeants Constantino Lobregat, John Arriola, Gerry Delioso, Felix Pedro Patriarga, Petronilo Fernandez, Patricio Claur Jr, and Sergeant Aldrin Ilustrisimo.

“We still do not what really happened really, but the last contact we had on the C130 was at the Butuan air base,” Lt. Col. Roland Bautista, a spokesman for the 10th Infantry Division in Davao City, told the Mindanao Examiner.

The cause of the crash was unknown. “It could be mechanical trouble, we still don’t know,” Bautista said.

The Philippine Air Force has only two ageing C130 aircrafts in their fleet of mostly old OV-10 fighter planes and UH-1H helicopters. (With reports from Romy Bwaga)

Photo: Military Helps COMELEC Transport Poll Machines In Mindanao

Philippine infantry and airmen from the Air Force’s Tactical Operation Group 12 transport 169 units of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM's) to South Upi in Mindanao by helicopter in the nation's first ever automated elections set on August 11, 2008 in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. At least 3,150 EVM have been distributed to 23 municipalities in Maguindanao, one of five provinces under the ARMM. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Mark Navales)

Airmen Accused Of Torturing Boy Face Charges In Davao City

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 18, 2008) – Philippine prosecutors filed charges against two air force servicemen accused of torturing a boy in Davao City.

The two soldiers - Sgt. Manuel Doria and A2C Rex Dimaculangan - were charged with slight physical injuries at a local court house.

Police said the victim’s family accused the servicemen of torturing the six-year old boy on July 14 while playing near the air force base. It said the soldiers, who were both drank, burned the boy with cigarettes.

The soldiers, police said, even shaped a cross on the boy’s stomach with their cigarettes.The boy’s family earlier appealed to Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to help them get justice and for the military to file charges against the erring servicemen. The mayor is known to punish abusive soldiers and policemen. (Romy Bwaga)

Two Airmen Accused of Torturing Boy In South RP

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 16, 2008) – Two Philippine Air Force servicemen are being investigated for torturing a six-year old boy in the southern port city of Davao, police said Wednesday.

Police said the boy’s family accused the servicemen of torturing the boy on Monday. It said the boy was playing near the air force base when the soldiers, who were both drank, burned him with cigarettes.

The soldiers, police said, even shaped a crucifix on the boy’s stomach with their cigarettes.

The boy’s family appealed to Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to help them get justice and for the military to file charges against the erring servicemen. The mayor is known to punish abusive soldiers and policemen. (Romy Bwaga)

Photo: Our Heroes!

Philippine Air Force Tactical Operation Group (TOG 12) of the 3rd Air Division under Lt. Col. Dionisio Robles, (left), and Philippine Army’s 603rd Infantry Brigade commander Col. Rolito Abad, (2nd from left), and 6th Infantry Division spokesman Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, (right), during a “search and rescue” conference in Maguindanao province, ravaged by typhoon Fengshen. The Army and the Air Force led a massive operation to rescue trapped villagers in areas submerged by flood waters in central Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Mark Navales)

2 Dead, 18 Wounded In Zamboanga City Bombing

Filipino police bomb experts sift through debris Thursday, May 29, 2008 after a bombing outside the Philippine Air Force base that killed two people and wounded at least 18 others. No group or individual has claimed responsibility for the attack, but previous bombings in Zamboanga City had been blamed to the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group. (Mindanao Examiner Photo/Arthur Abasolo)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 29, 2008) - Two people were killed and more than a dozen others wounded in a bomb attack Thursday outside a Philippine Air Force base in the southern port city of Zamboanga, police said.

The blast damaged a building in front of the military base, where US soldiers, training local troops in anti-terrorism warfare, maintain a small camp.

US Special Forces have been in Zamboanga City since 2002, but it was not immediately known whether the attack was related to the presence of the soldiers. The blast coincided with sporadic fighting between Muslim rebels and soldiers since last week in nearby Basilan island.

The damaged building also houses the Philippine military mutual fund, Air Material Wing Savings and Loans Association, and office of the US Agency for International Development, including the headquarter of Zamboanga City Rep. Maria Isabelle Climaco.

“We still do not know what type of IED was used in the attack,” said Senior Superintendent Lurimer Detran, the local police chief.

Initial reports said 10 people were wounded in the blast, but eight more had been rushed to hospitals. The explosion damaged the façade of the two-storey building. Police would not say whether the bomb was planted outside the building or left on parked vehicles nearby.

But other reports said the bomb, hidden in a bag, was apparently left outside the building where a crowd of passengers, mostly military dependents, were waiting for a C130 transport plane that would bring them to Manila.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack but the US and other western embassies have warned their citizens not to travel to Zamboanga City because of threats of terrorism and kidnappings.

On Monday, three gunmen kidnapped a trader in Zamboanga City after barging in his office in the village of Tetuan. Zamboanga City has been attacked in the past by the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group, which bombed civilian targets and in several occasions kidnapped foreigners among them a German canning executive, a Belgian agrarian expert, a Taiwanese matriarch and Chinese traders. (Mindanao Examiner)

Marines Finish Air-To-Ground Ops In Southern Philippines

In this photos released by the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines show members of the Philippine Marines and the Philippine Air Force in action during the ATOG operations seminar in Sulu province in southern Philippines.

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 09, 2007) – At least 40 Filipino Marines attended a three-day seminar on Air-To-Ground Operations in Sulu province in southern Philippines.

The Philippine forward air controllers, assigned to the Philippine Air Force Mobile Training Team, provided the seminar for the battle-hardened soldiers, who belong to the 3rd and 11th Marine Battalion Landing Teams held in Tanduh Bato from October 4 to 6.

The seminar is designed to improve the Marines inter-operability with the Air Force. This covers close air support, heli-borne assault, communications link-up, marshalling aircraft for medical evacuation and other air support operations.

“The Brigade conceptualized this enhancement training in order to improve our capability in combat. This is to ensure that whenever we request air support, our men in the field are correctly communicating with our P.A.F. counterparts,” Lt. Col. Antonieto Ga, 2nd MBLT deputy commander, said in a statement released on Monday.

Lumang Choppers Ibibigay Ng U.S. Sa Pinas!

MAGUINDANAO (Mindanao Examiner / 06 May) – Matapos na sisihin ng Philippine Air Force ang isang saranggola sa pagbagsak ng kanilang UH-1H chopper sa Cebu province ay inanunsyo naman ng militar na tatanggap ito ng 11 helicopters mula sa Estados Unidos.

Bahagi umano ito ng suporta ng Estados Unidos sa militar, ngunit nabatid na pulos segunda-mano rin ang mga copters na darating ngayon buwan.

Hindi naman sinabi kung anong uri ng choppers ang ibibigay ng Estados Unidos, subalit sa mga nakalipas na ipinadala nito ay UH-1H rin na gamit noon sa Vietnam War.

Bahagi ang donasyon sa military assistance package ng pamahalaang Bush sa Pilipinas, na kilalang ally nito sa global war of terror. Ngunit mistulang imbakan lamang ng mga military hardware ang Pinas sa mga ibinibigay ng mga Kano.

Nais kasing makakuha ang Pinas ng mga modernong eroplano at patrol boats na kailangan sa anti-insurgency campaign sa bansa.

Sa kabila ng lahat ay tuwang-tuwa naman ang Philippine Air Force sa ibibigay ng Estados Unidos at dagdag umano ito sa mga bulok na fleet ng eroplano at choppers ng bansa.

Bumagsak ang UH-1H chopper nito sa Lapu-Lapu City nuong nakaraang buwan at 9 na katao ang nasawi ng madaganan nito ang dalawang tricycle sa mataong lugar.

Nasa isang training flight ang chopper ng ito’y bumagsak. Nakita umano sa tail rotor nito ang isang nylon na gamit sa saranggola at ito ang naging basehan ng Philippine Air Force sa kanilang ulat na saranggola ang may sala sa nasabing trahedya. (Mindanao Examiner)

Sa Pagbagsak Ng Chopper, Sarangola Daw Ang May Sala?

MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / 02 May) – Sinisisi ngayon ng Philippine Air Force ang isang sarangola sa umano’y dahilan kung bakit bumagsak ang UH-1H helicopter nito sa Lapu-Lapu sa lalawigan ng Cebu.

Siyam na katao ang patay sa naturang trahedya na naganap nuong nakaraang linggo habang nasa isang training flight ang mga piloto nito.

Ngunit “pilot error” naman ang nakikita ng maraming mamamayan sa Cebu na siyang dahilan sa pagbagsak ng chopper.

Ayaw lamang umanong aminin ng PAF na pilot error ang dahilan ng pagbagsak ng chopper.

Dapat kasi ay mailayo ng mga piloto ang kanilang chopper sa mataong lugar kung sakaling ito ay babagsak. Dapat naman umanong bayaran ng PAF ang danyos-perwisyo nito sa mga pamilay ng nasawing sibilyan.

Karamihan sa nasawi ay mga pasahero ng dalawang tricycle na naipit sa chopper.

Sa ipinalabas na inisyal na resulta ng imbestigasyon, sinabi ni PAF Chief Lieutenant General Horacio Tolentino, lumilitaw na walang naging problema sa makina at kahit sa embargo ng gasolina ng chopper.

Bago ang insidente, normal aniya ang lipad ng chopper ngunit nawalan ng kontrol at napabagsak ng pumulupot na tali o nylon ng saranggola.

"Tumatakbo naman ng mahusay ang chopper, walang problema sa makina at gasolina. But the rotor system lost power due to the nylon cord," ani Tolentino sa pulong balitaan.

Aminado ang liderato ng PAF na wala itong mapapanagot o makakasuhan sa nangyari na maituturing lamang na aksidente. Ibinasura rin ng heneral ang posibilidad na nagkaroon ng pananabotahe.

Gayunman, binigyang-diin ni Tolentino ang mahigpit na babala sa pagpapalipad ng saranggola sa bisinidad ng paliparan o sasakop sa 2.5 milya ang layo mula sa gitna ng airport.

Umaapela si Tolentino sa pagkakaroon ng isang batas na mahigpit na magpapatupad ng no-kite flying zone.

Sa ngayon aniya, regulasyon lamang ng Air Transportation Office ang umiiral hinggil sa pagbabawal sa pagpapalipad ng saranggolangunit hindi istriktong namomonitor at naipatutupad bukod pa sa walang nakatakdang parusa sa mga paglabag.

Ipinunto ni Tolentino na kung may kaukulang batas na ay mas may awtoridad at mapapakilos ang pulisya para manghuli at magpakulong ng lalabag sa no-kite flying zone. (Juley Reyes)

Copter Crash Kills 7 In Central Philippines

A female Philippine Air Force UH-1H crew inspects her helicopter. At least 7 people are dead after a Philippine Air Force UH-1H helicopter crashes in Cebu province in central Philippines 28 Apr 2007. (Mindanao Examiner Photo Service)

CEBU (Mindanao Examiner / 28 Apr) – At least seven people were killed when a Philippine Air Force helicopter crashed into a crowded place in Cebu province.

The UH-1H chopper slammed into two motorcycle taxis in Lapu-Lapu City on the island of Mactan in Cebu. The cause of the crash is still unknown, but radio reports said the chopper lost its engine power and spiraled to the ground shortly before 6 p.m.

The aircraft was on a routine training flight when it crashed near the Mactan Air Force Base. It was unknown if any of the chopper’s crew or passengers were killed.

The UH-1H is one of many old aircrafts used by the Philippine Air Force in transporting soldiers and anti-insurgency operations. (Mindanao Examiner)

Philippine Combat Copter Crashes In Zambo

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 28 Dec) - A Philippine Air Force helicopter crashed Thursday while landing at the Zamboanga International Airport in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said the two unnamed pilots survived the crash, but the accident briefly stalled airport operations. "The pilots are okay and the chopper was removed from the runway and the airport operation is now back to normal," said Supt. Ybar Padao, chief of the airport security.

The helicopter, an MG-520, crashed at around 8.45 a.m., he said.

Padao did not say the cause of the crash, whether it was pilot or error or mechanical failure, but the chopper was on a routine flight when it plunged. Radio reports quoted unnamed airport sources said that one of the pilot was a woman, assigned with the Philippine Air Force's Edwin Andrews Air Base here.

Local pilots usually fly their air crafts in the morning as part of a routine maintenance. The small MG-520, equipped with rocket launchers on both side and machine gun on its nose, is often used in anti-insurgency operation in the southern Philippines. It was part of a security package that came from the United States. (Mindanao Examiner)