Friday, July 06, 2007 Relatives to file cases today v. PAF officials on chopper crash
CRIMINAL and administrative complaints are set to be filed today against Philippine Air Force (PAF) officials for the crash of a Huey chopper in Lapu-Lapu City last April. The incident claimed nine lives.
Lawyer Ram Villa-gonzalo confirmed this yesterday, adding that the complaints will be lodged before the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas.
A source from inside the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Cebu City chapter said the relatives of the seven civilian victims decided to file the complaint after a promised amount of “assistance” failed to arrive.
Lawyer Alex Tolentino, in an earlier interview, said the relatives of the seven who died would only file the complaint if officials in the Air Force would continue to ignore their demands.
He said they grew suspicious when they asked for an accident report and were refused, after being told that it is a “classified report.”
The families didn’t experience any trouble in getting the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office (LCPO) report of the incident.
But Maj. Gen. Pedro Ike Yncierto of the Tactical Operations Command (TOC), said in an earlier interview that the PAF has no money to give as additional compensation for the families of those who died, not even to the families of two servicemen who perished in the incident.
The complainants, though, were already given P858,455.28 cash as burial aid. Two others who died at the hospital got more because the medical bills also needed to be defrayed. PAF disbursed a total of P1.27 million.
Yncierto said that being war materials, PAF’s air assets are not insured. Thus, there is no other source for compensation money.
The ill-fated Huey gunship was on its way back to the Benito Ebuen Airbase in Lapu-Lapu City after a trainer flight last April 28 when it into two tricycles on Humayhumay Road.
Nine people, including 1st Lt. Jesus Imbat and Staff Sgt. Michael Gabino, the co-pilot and mechanic of the helicopter, died in the incident.
The rest of the fatalities included civilians Rey Ledesma, Odelon Acampado, Laura Jumao-as, Ma. Nenita Dungon, Genevieve Garcia, Noel Imbong and Casimira Yanson.
Capt. Allan Villagarcia, the pilot, and Master Sgt. Johnny delos Reyes, the gunner, suffered serious injuries. (KNR)
