US Embassy flagged for military plane landing in NAIA —DFA

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has already called the attention of the United States (US) Embassy over the lack of coordination after an American military aircraft landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) back in June.

Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Jose Victor Chan Gonzaga of the Office of American Affairs disclosed this on Wednesday during the continuation of the Senate foreign relations committee hearing into the supposed unadvised landing of the US military aircraft in Manila.

“We have already called the attention of the US Embassy to this and they have provided us assurances that they will try, as much as possible, not to make this happen again,” Gonzaga said.

“I don’t think anyone is in a position to say it’s absolutely never gonna happen againl, but we definitely will be more vigilant in terms of vetting these requests,” he added.

Similarly, Gonzaga said they will raise this issue before the Presidential Commission on Visiting Forces to avoid such incidents in the future.

“We see the point that there’s probably a need, maybe in particular for military flights, to ensure that relevant airport authority is given advanced notice. So we’ll discuss that in the context of the Presidential Commission on Visiting Forces and see if there are things we can do at least administratively on our side,” he said.

With this, Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa commended the DFA for “being brave enough to call out the United States to correct their mistakes.”

During the course of the investigation, it was found that the Manila International Airport Authority was not informed of the US military plane’s landing because of lack of coordination between the ground handler and the aircraft’s operator.

According to MIAA Senior Assistant General Manager Bryan Andersen Co, the ground handler said they were not advised of the US aircraft’s landing.

Senator Imee Marcos, panel chairperson, earlier said that the US embassy has admitted that flight planners did not coordinate with NAIA ground handlers as regards a US military aircraft's arrival in Manila on June 26.

In late June, Marcos filed Senate Resolution 667 seeking a probe into the alleged unadvised landing of the US military aircraft in Manila.

She questioned the purpose of the arrival of a Boeing C-17 strategic transport aircraft operated by the US military in Manila when its main destination was Puerto Princesa, Palawan.

Citing a source, Marcos said the Manila International Airport Integrated Command and Control Center was not given any advisory on the arrival of the said aircraft.

The aircraft arrived at NAIA at around 8:08 in the morning of July 26, 2023, departed on the same day at 6:10 p.m. or 10 hours after it arrived then arrived in Puerto Princesa at around 7:08 p.m, according to Marcos’ resolution.

After Marcos sought a probe into the matter, the US Embassy said that it has been coordinating with the Philippine government to permit the entry of any US government aircraft into the country. —VAL, GMA Integrated News