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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Marcos relishes 'fantastic' fighter jet experience

Marcos relishes 'fantastic' fighter jet experience

Published Mar 8, 2023 05:53 am
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has shared that his fighter jet experience was fantastic as he bared that it was something he has been wanting to do. Marcos was able to fly onboard the  Philippine Air Force’s (PAF) FA-50PH Fighter Jet to witness its capability in a flight demonstration at the Clark Air Base in Pampanga on Tuesday, March 7. It was upon the invitation of PAF for him to personally test the aircraft. "Talagang  (It's really) very very interesting," Marcos said on Wednesday after launching a Kadiwa store for workers in Quezon City. He shared that his pilot did a good job as he did not even get dizzy and did not make it difficult for him. "[I]t was a fantastic experience...It was a very unusual and much-desired experience para sa aming lahat (for us all). So I'm very happy I was able to do it," he said. The President revealed that he has always wanted to it, especially after witnessing the fighter jets escorting the presidential plane in his foreign trips. "[M]atagal ko nang actually gustong gawin yun pero hindi ako naging piloto. Kaya't nag-take advantage na 'ko kasi nabanggit ko na nung lumilipad yung mga fighter jets dun sa pag-uwi namin galing sa mga bisita, e, nabanggit ko sabi ko: masarap sigurong makasakay man lang. So pinagbigyan naman ako (I have been wanting to do it for so long but I did not become a pilot. So I took advantage because I mentioned during our flights back home from our foreign trips that it must be nice to experience it. So they gave me a chance to)," Marcos shared.
During his flight, Marcos said he saw how important it is to increase the capabilities of the Air Force. He said the administration must continue to encourage the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to boost its capabilities. "We saw some of the capabilities that were demonstrated to me during the flight, and we can see how important this increase in our capabilities is going to be, especially in the defense of our maritime territory," he said. On Tuesday, he stressed that the [Philippines needs to improve the Air Force’s capabilities](https://mb.com.ph/2023/03/07/paf-must-upgrade-ph-territorial-defense-capabilities-marcos/) to effectively cover the country’s territory. The chief executive said that through the additional C295 aircraft, a newly-acquired jet by the government, the AFP will be able to provide more responsive support to government agencies, especially in emergency situations and on humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations.
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