Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque revealed on Wednesday, July 7, he rode the same C-130 military cargo plane that crash landed in Patikul, Sulu last weekend.
“Nag-turn over din po tayo ng medical supplies sa Iloilo City. At ‘yong C-130 po na bumagsak, ‘yon din po ‘yong C-130 na sinakyan natin (We also turned over medical supplies to Iloilo City. And the C-130 that crashed was the same C-130 we rode),” Roque said.
The Palace official made the revelation during the weekly briefing of President Duterte who asked him about the updates on the government’s vaccine rollout.
He used the military aircraft to transport China’s Sinovac vaccines, personal protective equipment, and ventilators three days before the plane crash.
“Fortunately po, mukhang ibang crew naman ‘yong nandoon pero namatayan din po (Fortunately, it appears a different crew was there, but some still died),” Roque said.
“Noong nakausap ko po ‘yong ilang crew na sinakyan namin, eh talagang (When I spoke with some of the crew of the plane we rode), they are also in shock dahil alam nila na (because they know) it could have happened to them, too,” he added.
READ: Soldier succumbs to injuries as Sulu crash death toll rises to 53
The spokesperson expressed his sincerest condolences to the families of the fallen soldiers and civilians.
The number of deaths among government troops stood at 50, with three civilian casualties, raising the death toll to 53 as of Tuesday.
There were remaining 46 injured military personnel, some of them are in critical condition.
The ill-fated aircraft, which the Philippines acquired from the United States earlier this year, has a maximum payload capability of 19,000 kilograms. It also has 11,000 flying hours left.