AFP Chief flies with 86 stranded civilian passengers from Batanes to Manila
Eighty-six civilian air passengers who got stranded after their commercial flights were cancelled have been assisted by the military and transported from Basco, Batanes to Manila via transport aircraft C-295, the Philippine Air Force (PAF) said Saturday, July 1.
*(Photo: Philippine Air Force)
* The PAF said that the stranded passengers were jibed with a flight intended for the movement of General Andres Centino, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), after his visit to the Northern Luzon Command (NOLCOM) area of responsibility last Thursday, June 29. “These individuals had been left stranded due to flight cancellations from various airlines thus prompting the humanitarian transport conducted by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) through the use of Philippine Air Force assets, that happened to be performing missions in the area,” the PAF said. “This compassionate act not only reunited families, but also helped individuals who needed to get back to their jobs or schools, as well as those who had to secure critical services that are only available in Metro Manila,” it added. Centino had visited the NOLCOM troops assigned in Batanes, who are considered as "guardians" of the country’s northernmost frontier, to ensure the military’s support to them. The NOLCOM is the AFP’s command which supervises military operations in the northern part of the country including the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc and the Benham Rise.