President Duterte might visit the injured military troops in a Zamboanga hospital “if plans push through,” Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said, referring to some 49 army personnel who were injured when a C-130 military plane crashed in Patikul, Sulu on Sunday, July 4.

The Palace official did not give a definite date on when the visit will take place, but asked the public not to jump to conclusions on the plane crash.

“Nalulungkot po talaga ang Presidente at ang buong sambayanang Pilipino dahil meron tayong mga kasundaluhan na nasawi dahil dito sa mga insidenteng ito. Pero gaya nang sabi ko kanina pagkabilin-bilin ng Presidente, hintayin natin ang pormal na imbestigasyon bago tayo magkaroon ng mga konklusyon (The President is really sad, as well as the whole Filipino nation, because there are soldiers who died in this incident but like what the President reminded, let us wait for the formal investigation before we draw conclusions),” Roque said in his virtual presser on Monday, July 5.

The crash killed 47 soldiers and three civilians on the ground. The plane was carrying a total of 96 military personnel and crew, many of whom were fresh graduates and had just completed military training.

The military plane was transporting troops from Cagayan de Oro to Sulu province when it missed the runway in Jolo, reports said, adding that the troops were on their way to join other battalions in the fight against terrorism.

READ: 50 dead, 53 hurt: AFP concludes retrieval operation on crashed C-130 in Sulu

Roque lamented the crash, saying that the C-130 aircraft was a recent delivery to the Philippines by the United States. It was one of the two aircrafts conveyed through the US government’s military financing program.

“Kabahagi po talaga itong mga bagong eroplano at helicopters na ito sa AFP modernization plan at siguro po iyong mga pangyayaring ito (This is part of the new planes and helicopters under the AFP modernization plan and maybe these incidents) will provide impetus for future modernization rather than preventive,” he said.

Aside from the C-130 plane, he also mentioned that the Black Hawk helicopter that crashed during a night flight about 60 miles north of Manila on June 24 and killed all six people on board was also newly acquired equipment.

Roque quoted US officials who said that the C-130 was one of the brand-new planes they delivered to the Philippines. It is considered to be in good condition as it has 11,000 flying hours left before it was due for maintenance.

READ: US Embassy condoles with families of the C-130 crash victims in Sulu

The Palace official, however, said that the administration will continue pushing through its modernization plan for the armed forces.

“It's only the President who's actually taken concrete steps to modernize the armed forces,” he claimed, adding that aside from the Black Hawk helicopters and C-130 planes, the administration also bought frigates from South Korea.

“Malungkot ang mga pangyayaring ito (These incidences are sad) but we will proceed at full speed in modernizing the armed forces within our limited resources. We need a viable armed forces to defend especially our territorial sovereignty,” Roque said.