Saksi is GMA Network's late-night newscast hosted by Arnold Clavio and Pia Arcangel. It airs Mondays to Fridays at 10:20 PM (PHL Time) on GMA-7. For more videos from Saksi, visit http://www.gmanews.tv/saksi.
#GMAIntegratedNews #KapusoStream
Breaking news and stories from the Philippines and abroad:
GMA Integrated News Portal: http://www.gmanews.tv
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gmanews
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gmanews
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/gmanews
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/gmanews
GMA Network Kapuso programs on GMA Pinoy TV: https://gmapinoytv.com/subscribe
#GMAIntegratedNews #KapusoStream
Breaking news and stories from the Philippines and abroad:
GMA Integrated News Portal: http://www.gmanews.tv
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gmanews
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gmanews
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/gmanews
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/gmanews
GMA Network Kapuso programs on GMA Pinoy TV: https://gmapinoytv.com/subscribe
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Grounded or not, the F-A-50 fighter jets of the Philippine Air Force were not allowed to fly.
00:05After landing in Bukidnon, one of them, two pilots were killed.
00:10Witness, Chino Gaston.
00:15Along with several civilian volunteers from the towns of Pangantukan and Lantapan,
00:20the Philippine Air Force launched Mount Kalatungan in Bukidnon
00:24to search for the F-A-50 fighter jet that was found missing on a Tuesday morning.
00:30They found the fighter jet, but it was completely destroyed.
00:34While a few meters from here, the two pilots who boarded it saw that they were dead.
00:39Yes, ma'am, I have visual confirmation.
00:41But they were already dead.
00:43They were only seen in the aircraft where they crashed.
00:50The Air Force did not name the injured pilots,
00:53but they admitted that the victims were experienced and qualified.
00:57Unfortunately, there is an indication that the pilots were not able to bail out.
01:02There are different versions of that.
01:04Some said they were sitting, others said they were thrown out of the aircraft.
01:09In the initial investigation, the plane with tail number 002 that crashed hit a tree.
01:15From Mactan Air Base in Cebu, the F-A-50 and other fighter jets
01:19will conduct a night tactical operation as support for the 4th Infantry Division
01:25against the New People's Army in the town of Kabanglasan
01:28when the aircraft was lost in communication.
01:31We provide air support to our ground troops.
01:36We deliver the necessary firepower from the air.
01:39To soften the ground and to preserve our forces
01:43and avoid casualties,
01:46our troops from the ground requested air support and artillery fire support.
01:53The retrieval operation continues to retrieve the 12 pilots.
01:57Aside from the anti-terrorist operations,
01:59the F-A-50 fighter jets are also used in the joint patrols in the West Philippine Sea
02:04which were also sent for pitch-black exercises in Darwin, Australia.
02:09There are 12 F-A-50 fighter jets in the country
02:12that were bought in South Korea from 2015 to 2017.
02:16But while the F-A-50 is being investigated for its crash in Bukidnon,
02:21the other fighter jets were either grounded or not.
02:25The sooner we can get the fleet out of the grounded status,
02:32the better.
02:33We really need our F-A-50s to be there
02:36in case we have to face challenges in our territorial waters
02:48and exclusive economic zone areas.
02:50The Air Force has yet to say if the plan to add 12 F-A-50s
02:56to complete a jet fighter squadron is affected by the crash.
02:59For GMA Integrated News,
03:01I am Chino Gaston, your witness.