Helicopter's GPS recovered

MANILA, Philippines - Air crash investigators have recovered the Global Positioning System (GPS) device of the downed Bell 412 presidential helicopter from the aircraft’s wreckage in the jungles of Mt. Pulag in Tinoc, Ifugao.

On Thursday, President Arroyo paid tribute to her eight aides who died in the crash by conferring on them posthumous Medals of Merit at the Heroes Hall in Malacañang.

Maj. Gerard Zamudio, Philippine Air Force (PAF) spokesman, said the PAF-Accident Investigation Team (PAF-AIT) headed by Col. Manuel Morales was back in Manila yesterday with the GPS device and not the “black box” as reported.

“The recovered GPS will give our investigators a clue in their ongoing probe to determine what really caused the accident,” Zamudio said.

The ill-fated presidential aircraft with eight people on board – two pilots, a crewmember as well as top Palace and military officials – was returning to Baguio City after it failed to land Tuesday afternoon at its designated landing site in Banawe due to bad weather.

All passengers died in the crash, including Press Undersecretary Jose “Jocap” Capadocia, a veteran journalist who left the profession to join President Arroyo’s Cabinet.

Zamudio said the memory of the GPS device, if not damaged, would show the entire flight path of the presidential chopper up to the point of impact.

The Bell 412 is the most modern in the PAF’s inventory of helicopters and is among six of the same type assigned to the Presidential Airlift Wing.

Following the mishap, the five remaining helicopters were grounded to undergo mandatory 3,000-kilometer flight inspection check.

Gone but not forgotten

Accompanied by members of her family, President Arroyo delivered a eulogy for her fallen aides, all of whom played an important role in her work as the country’s chief executive.

“This is a moment of deep personal sadness for me. An intense feeling of sadness I know is shared by our Malacañang co-workers, for our friends and colleagues who fell in the line of duty for country and compatriot,” the President said.

On their way to Benguet as part of the President’s advance party for her inspection of the Hanselma Highway, Brig. Gen. Carlos Clet, the senior military aide of the President; Capadocia; the President’s appointments secretary Marilou Frostrom; Presidential Airlift Wing pilots Maj. Rolando Sacatani and Capt. Alvin Alegata; Presidential Management Staff assistant director Perlita Bandayanon; petty officer Demilyn Reyno, Clet’s aide; and S/Sgt. Roe Gem Perez all perished when the helicopter crashed, reportedly due to bad weather, on the hills located at the boundary of Benguet and Ifugao provinces.

Frostrom was described by the President as “her closest and perfect co-worker.” 

Clet, according to the President, was once being groomed as her Presidential Security Group chief but “as Providence would have it, he had his most shining moments in the equally prestigious and maybe more glamorous job of being my senior aide or senior military assistant.”

Capadocia, who was fondly called “Jocap” by everyone who knew him, including the President, had been a supporter of Mrs. Arroyo since she was a senator.

“Joe is a loss not only to Maret (Capadocia’s wife) and to Celia (his sister) and their children but I believe also to the Malacañang Press Corps (whose members) are grieving very much for him,” the President said.

Bandayanon, who was Frostrom’s deputy at the PMS, was described as “tireless and uncomplaining.”

The President also defended the two pilots after questions were raised about the wisdom of their decision to take off for Benguet from Baguio since the weather was bad that day.

The President said Sacatani and Alegata were competent, veteran and conservative pilots.

Perez, on the other hand, was described by the President as a silent, quiet and reliable presence “who would open and close the helicopter door for me.”

The President also noted that Reyno, whose husband, Sgt. Jalicris Reyno, is a member of the PSG, left behind a nine-month-old baby boy.

The President, apart from losing her temper on occasion, is rarely emotional in public.

However, it was reported that when she attended a service at the Loakan Airport in Baguio City last Thursday morning, right before the caskets were flown to Manila, the President was misty-eyed.

“Now is the appointed time for our dear friends and colleagues, who perished in Tangawan, to return to their Maker,” the President said in a statement she delivered Thursday morning.

The United States Embassy in Manila also expressed its “sympathy and deep sorrow at the loss of our Philippine friends who were killed in a tragic helicopter accident.”

“They were dedicated public servants and will be greatly missed. We offer heartfelt condolences to their colleagues, families and loved ones,” the embassy said in a statement. – With Marvin Sy, Edith Regalado and Reinir Padua