Currently, Philippines
presidential aircraft was the Fokker 28 (photo : Carlos A.Morillo)
Malacanang
Advised to Get Official Plane for Noy, Cabinet
MANILA,
Philippines - President Benigno Aquino III should acquire an "Air Force
One" and beef up the government’s fleet of aircraft to protect himself and
the members of his Cabinet, Senate majority leader Vicente Sotto III said
Monday.
“I have told
them to shun criticisms and get an aircraft for the President. I have said that
it is about time to upgrade the airplanes being used by our government
officials,” Sotto said.
Sotto
lamented the unfortunate plane crash involving Interior and Local Government Secretary
Jesse Robredo and the two pilots last Saturday.
“They should
no longer think twice about it or be swayed by criticisms because the safety of
the President and his cabinet members should be our primordial concern,” the
majority leader said.
“Look at
what happened, you are the DILG secretary, and he should have had his own
chopper or aircraft to go around the country,” Sotto added.
Robredo is
not the first top government official to be involved in a plane crash. During
the time of ex-president and Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, former press
secretary Jose Capadocia was killed in a helicopter crash in Benguet.
As this
developed, Sotto said the Commission on Appointments (CA) would have set the
confirmation hearing for Robredo on August 29.
Sotto, chairperson
of the CA subcommittee on local government said the initial CA hearing last
Wednesday was postponed due to the request of some congressmen who wanted to be
present during the necrological services for Sorsogon Rep. Sonny Escudero.
According to
Sotto, the CA was supposedly to be re-scheduled to Wednesday, August 22, but
Robredo himself asked that the hearing be postponed to a later date because he
would not be available this week.
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