Duterte instructed AFP to ensure C-130 crash will not happen again —Sobejana

President Rodrigo Duterte wants Sunday's deadly C-130 crash in Sulu that killed 52 people to be the last crash involving a military aircraft, Armed Forces chief  Cirilito Sobejana said on Tuesday.

“Very clear po ang instruction ng ating Presidente na [The president’s instruction is very clear that], our air assets and other military equipment should be in good shape all the time, and you cannot afford to have similar incident in the future. That (C-130 crash) should be the last,” Sobejana told CNN Philippines.

Sobejana said Duterte gave the marching order when he visited the survivors and fatalities of the C-130 crash in Zamboanga City on Monday.

Last Sunday's crash was the third such incident involving a military aircraft this year. On January 16, a PAF UH-1H helicopter crashed near Bukidnon's Barangay Bulonay, killing seven. On June 23, a brand-new S-70i Black Hawk Utility Helicopter figured in an accident off Capas, Tarlac, killing six.

Of the 52 fatalities in the C-130 crash, 49 were soldiers while three were civilians, according to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, who has ordered a full investigation into the incident.

The C-130 belonging to the Philippine Air Force was about to land in Barangay Bangkal in Patikul, Sulu, on Sunday when it crashed at 11:30 a.m.

Lorenzana has denied that the AFP purchases and uses defective equipment. —KBK, GMA News