MAYOR Oscar Moreno assured on Monday, July 5, that the City Government will extend assistance to Cagayan de Oro residents who are victims of the military plane crash in Sulu.
According to Moreno, he sent a text message to Councilor Romeo Calizo, consultant to the peace process Ariel "Ayi" Hernandez, and City Administrator Teodoro Sabuga-a to determine whether there are Kagay-anon casualties in the crash.
"I sent a text message to General Romy Calizo, to Ayi Hernandez and to Teddy Sabuga-a. Kay we need to know kung kinsa tong taga Cagayan de Oro and then namatay ug katong injured, kung naa man galing sa ato," Moreno said.
He added that they need to get the identification of the victims who are residents of the city, and determine the arrival of the remains of those who may have died in the crash.
"We need to know kung kinsa tong mga taga Cagayan kay we are also awaiting the giving of some assistance," Moreno added.
The C-130 aircraft crashed around 11:30 a.m. Sunday, July 4, 2021, in Barangay Bangkal, Patikul, Sulu.
As of July 5, the death toll rose to 50, of which 47 were military personnel and three were civilians.
The ill-fated aircraft flew from Villamor Airbase in Pasay City to Cagayan de Oro City to pick up the soldiers for deployment to Sulu.
This was the second Philippine Air Force (PAF) aircraft that crashed in just 11 days. On June 23, a brand-new Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Tarlac, killing all six PAF personnel who were conducting night flight training.