PAF pilot jailed for going AWOL

The Philippine Air Force detained last Monday an officer who went AWOL (absent without leave) to train for a job in a commercial airline, ABS-CBN’s Bandila news program said.

Capt. Roberto Solis now shares a cell with junior Air Force officers linked to the July 27, 2003 short-lived mutiny. They are detained in a facility at the 520th Air Base Wing at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.

A graduate of Philippine Air Force Flying School Class 1997, Solis is now charged with violation of Articles of War 97 or conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline, PAF spokesman Maj. Augusto dela Peña said.

"He is facing AW No. 97 arising from his going AWOL and for moonlighting. He was supposed to face the arraignment last Friday but did not appear, prompting the PAF to take him to custody," Dela Peña said.

The Bandila report quoted Solis as saying that he was not in hiding and that he was willing to face the AWOL case against him.

"Hindi ko naman tinataguan ang kaso ko. Bakit nila ako kailangang ganituhin (I am not running away from the case. Why are they doing this to me?)’’ Solis lamented in the Bandila report.

Solis, who topped the aeronautical board examination 1995, is considered one of PAF’s top guns. He is a recipient of medals and citations for combat duty. He has been with PAF for more than eight years.