Newly-inaugurated President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is set to attend the 75th anniversary of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) on Friday afternoon, July 1, his first ever engagement with the military.
Col. Maynard Mariano, PAF spokesperson, said Marcos will be physically attending the celebration at the Haribon Hangar, Clark Air Base in Mabalacat City, Pampanga around 4 p.m.
“Trabaho lang ang ginagawa namin, maitawid lang po namin ‘yung anniversary. Grateful din naman po kami na napaunlakan po kami ni Presidente for his first engagement with the Armed Forces (It’s just for work and we only want to hold our anniversary successfully. We are grateful that our invitation was accepted by the President for his first engagement with the Armed Forces),” Mariano said.
Among the expected highlights of the celebration will be the awarding of exemplary personnel and units for their accomplishments in the past year.
Various aerial assets will also hold a fly by and high speed opener to show the capabilities of the PAF, similar to what was conducted during Marcos’ inauguration in Manila on June 30.
These include FA-50 trainer jets, S-70i Black Hawk combat utility helicopters, A-29 Super Tucano close air support aircraft, and T129 attack helicopters.