THE United States has offered assistance, including the identification of charred remains of fatalities, following the weekend crash of a C-130 plane of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) in Patikul, Sulu.
The offer was made by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III in his phone conversation with his Philippine counterpart, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, on July 6, Washington time, a readout of which was provided by Pentagon spokesman John Kirby and made available in Manila by the US Embassy.
“Secretary Austin offered to provide any additional assistance that is possible, including for the crash response and potential identification of victims,” the readout said, adding that Austin also offered his condolences to the country and to the families of the soldiers.
During their conversation, Lorenzana provided an update to his American counterpart and both discussed “critical medical evaluation support” that was provided by the US personnel for the crash victims.
The Lockheed Martin-manufactured C-130 plane with tail number 5125, which crashed and burst into flames after attempting to land at the airport in Patikul, was acquired by the military from the US and was delivered on January 29 this year.
The military has officially identified on Wednesday 19 of the 49 military personnel who perished from the crash. Aside from the soldiers, three civilians, who were near the crash site, were also killed and four others were injured.
It also said that 47 other soldiers were injured or wounded.
On Tuesday, General Cirilito Sobejana, chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), said that the number of dead military personnel has been pegged to 50 as of this writing after one of those critically injured soldiers expired at the hospital while undergoing treatment.
But this was corrected by military public affairs office chief Capt. Jonathan Zata, saying the official figure stands at 49 soldiers dead and 47 injured.
A statement from Zata’s office identified the 19 whose remains have been identified as Major Emmanuel Makalintal; Major Michael Vincent Benolerao; First Lieutenant Joseph Hintay, Technical Sergeant Mark Anthony Agana; Technical Sergeant Donald Badoy; Staff Sergeant Jan Neil Macapaz; Staff Sergeant Michael Bulalaque; and Sergeant Jack Navarro from PAF.
The same news statement also included Captain Higello Emeterio from the AFP Medical Corps and First Lieutenant Sheena Alexandria Tato from the AFP Nurse Corps.
From the Army, those who have been identified were Sergeant Butch Maestro; Private First Class Christopher Rollon; Private First Class Felixzalday Provido; Privates Raymar Carmona, Vic Monera, Mark Nash Lumanta, Jomar Gabas, Marcelino Alquisar, and Mel Mark Angana.
“The AFP has already transported 11 of the remains to their home towns,” the statement read. They are Captain Emeterio; Sgt. Maestro; Tsg. Agana; PFC. Rollon; PFC. Provido; Pvt. Gabas; Pvt. Alquisar; Pvt. Lumanta; Pvt. Angana; Pvt. Carmona and Pvt. Monera.
“The remains of 1st Lt. Tato are now being transported via C-295 aircraft while seven of the identified cadavers are being prepared for air and land transport,” it added.
The statement said that Sobejana assured that efforts are still focused on the identification of 30 more cadavers still in Zamboanga City, and the ongoing investigation of the plane crash.
“He [Sobejana] also corrected the previous report of 50 total fatalities, citing that there had been a double count. As of July 7, the total casualties are still at 49,” the statement added.
According to Zata, the ill-fated C-130 plane was carrying a total of 96 passengers. Of the number, 12 are from PAF, including the pilots and crew and two others, while 84 are from the Army.
On Tuesday, Lorenzana said while he was in Zamboanga City that the crash may have been caused by a combination of pilot error and weather, but military officials, including PAF spokesman Lt. Col. Maynard Mariano said this could not be definite yet as the investigation is still ongoing where all angles and factors are being looked into.
Mariano said that while the search and recovery teams have already recovered the plane’s flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR), they are yet to be shipped to “a facility capable of evaluating and analyzing data.”
He said both could be shipped to Lockheed Martin or even to the US Air Force for analysis and assistance.
Mariano also belied claims that the aircraft could have been overloaded, saying the aircraft “was well within the operational limits and capacity when it left Laguindingan Airport with 96 passengers compared to its maximum capacity of 120 passengers.”
Army spokesman Col. Ramon Zagala said the Army has already extended support to the crash victims and will continue to do, especially for the 37 Army personnel who died in the crash.
“The fallen troops’ bereaved families will be accorded with psychosocial support, financial assistance and pension to support them in this time of sorrow,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lt. Gen. Corleto Vinluan Jr., commander of the Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command, cited the villagers of Patikul for their effort as first responders during the crash.
“The Western Mindanao Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines is extremely grateful to the assistance extended by our Tausug brothers and sisters in Sulu who were among the first responders that rescued several survivors of the air mishap,” he said.
“To the survivors and all of us, our brothers and sisters Tausug are our heroes. They risked their own lives to save their fellow Filipinos whom they consider as their protectors from the malefactors,” he added.
Aside from the villagers of Barangay Bangkal, Vinluan said the “CAFGUs and cadre from the Bangkal Patrol Base” were also among the first responders immediately responded to extricate more than 20 wounded soldiers from the site.