Two friends of President Duterte are giving financial aid to the families of the victims of the military plane crash in Sulu last weekend.
President Duterte announced the cash assistance to be given by his friend religious leader Apollo Quiboloy to the families of the slain soldiers during his televised address Monday. Duterte made the statement as he continued to grieve the loss of lives from the ill-fated military plane.
"Allow me to again extend our deepest condolences to the family of our soldiers and civilians who perished in the recent C-130 crash in Sulu. We shall always remember our soldiers’ deep devotion to duty and willingness to risk their lives for our country and our people," the President said during a televised address Monday, July 12.
"We have Pastor C. Quiboloy will extend P20,000 cash assistance to the family of the soldiers and civilians who perished in the incident," he said.
Duterte also mentioned another friend who has offered gift certificates to the families of the crash victims.
"Ito si Ivan is a good friend of mine. Parang not an outright really philanthropist but he is one Chinese Filipino who has a conscience and who thinks and moves and lives like a Filipino really," he said.
While he mourned the loss of the soldiers, Duterte expressed anew his thanks to the people who helped in the rescue of the plane crash victims.
"We are also grateful to the local community and individuals who rushed to the crash site and tried to save as many lives as they could. Now, these people in the vicinity or in the area were mostly Tausugs," he said.
A military plane crashed and broke up in flames in Sulu last Sunday, killing dozens of soldiers and civilians. Duterte immediately flew to Zamboanga City to visit the wounded troops as well as pay final respects to those killed in the plane mishap.