Losing a member of the family is hard enough to bear. But for a loved one to disappear in your life without you knowing where he is or if he is really dead, that’s unbearable.
Maria Fe Gerlie Mercado, wife of Capt. Gavino B. Mercado PMA Class ’99), one of the two Philippine Air Force pilots whose plane disappeared November 26 last year, has written Brig. Gen.Eduardo Oban Jr., wing commander of Basa Air Base, pouring out her grief over being kept in the dark of the fate of her husband and her co-pilot, Capt.Bonifacio Soriano III (PMA Class 2000)
Mrs. Mercado said Oban is the immediate superior of her husband.
Captains Mercado and Soriano III were on a mission aboard S-211 jet to search for the 26 Filipino crewmen whose fishing vessel capsized off the disputed Spratly islands in the South China Sea. PAF officials had earlier speculated “spatial disorientation,” a mid-flight confusion that causes pilots to lose control of the aircraft.
There were also speculations that the aircraft could have been shot down by other claimants of the Spratly islands but this was immediately ruled out by Air Force officials.
In her letter, Mrs. Mercado expressed frustration over the seemingly lack of concern of Air Force officials. “I am writing to you as a loyal wife praying for my husband’s return.
“Not finding a single part of the missing plane is one of the mysteries that need to be investigated. Indeed, it is easy to say that the plane disappeared when it entered the clouds. The clouds either have been nimbo cumulus or cirrus.Whatever its form, it may be sighted by radar, I am sure, because its steel or aluminum body could not have separated into different parts as it was welded with reinforced steel bolts and rivets.”
Mrs. Mercado bewailed the failure of the Air Force to communicate with the families of the missing pilots on the findings of their investigation of the incident, if they ever investigated.
.”If a report cannot be written after seven months, when will it ever be written?” she asked.
She said they have run out of tears to shed.“The best thing that I can do is to pray, that you be enlightened to tell us the truth. We humbly ask you to make a final report to us the family who are left behind.You owe it to us. You owe it to the Filipinos.You owe it to our country.”
If I were a PMA graduate, I wouldn’t choose Phil. Air Force as my unit. How can I be comfortable serving at a unit with “flying coffins”. Unless RP modernizes her Air Force, many more of our young pilots, graduates of PMA, would become victims.
No report because the fake commander-in-chief only likes wondering around her Enchanted Kingdom.
If Gloria the bitch was a true CIC, she should have ordered an immediate explanation as to what happened to her two Air Force pilots.
Baka nga napuruhan ng ibang nagbabantay sa Spratlys at takot ang bruha na maka-offend ng feeling ng kanyang ‘friendly’ neighbors, kaya walang report. Or sadya siyang walang pakialam sa mga naghahanap na pamilya. It’s her responsibility to know and provide explanation, siya ang hepe ng AFP daw! Ang tagal ng nangyari ito. Animal na tianak!
Paano yan? Ganoon na lang, “Hindi namin alam ang nangyari, Misis, e”.
Ano kaya ang ginagawa ng mga cavaliers at mistahs? Nagbibilang lang ng missing persons?
Sabi nga nung kapitbahay kong hepe-imbestigador ng Pasay Police, “Bopol talaga itong mga pulis ko, kulang na lang yung biktima na ang mag-imbestiga at ibigay sa kanila yung detalye para may mai-report. Ano’ng silbi ng tinawag pa silang imbestigador?”
Ganyan din sa militar. Tignan ninyo ang pamilya nila Sherilyn Cadapan, Karen Empeño, at Jayjay Burgos. Sila na ang nagiimbestiga, hinaharang pa ng militar. Kung ako sa mga kamaganak nung dalawang Airforce Captains, lalapit na ako sa military ng Vietnam, o China baka sakali mahiya ang AFP.
Kundi naman diretso na sa Pentagon, naka record lahat ng air activities sigurado at mas may pag-asa pa doon.
agree with bitchevil. a nephew moved to the usa precisely because of these flying coffins. people doing their duties are normally forgotten in this administration whereas people covering up for them get all the goodies.oban probably knew what happened but not willing to tell for political reasons. this is the tragedy in the phil armed forces today.
Kaya nga, Tongue, sabi ko bobo. Nagtataka nga ako papaano nakakalutas ng krimen ang mga inutil na nakaupo lang. Tawa nga ako ng tawa doon sa isang police statement na ibinigay sa mga authorities dito tungkol sa isang kaso ng patayan na ang biktima ay hapones. Bilib you me, mali-mali ang ingles. Sabi ko nga, ita-translate ko rin naman sa Japanese, hindi pa itinagalog dahil kung Amerikano ang magbabasa ng statement baka pagtawanan ang ingles at kaitsupiduhan ng statement ng witness at noong suspect na pilipino. Ibang-iba sa sipag at technique ng mga imbestigador dito lalo na iyong mga sikat na pulis ng Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department na sa totoo lang ay ginaya sa Scotland Yard ng Great Britain. Hula-hula na lang ang mga unggoy. Hindi kaya nahihiya ang mga mokong kapag ipinaparada nila iyong mga suspect nila na pinaamin sa bugbog kahit wala namang ginagawang masama? Dapat nang ma-stop ang mga kagunggungang iyan sa totoo lang.
Baka biglang sabi ng mga mokong lalo na kapag inamin na ng US iyong tungkol sa mga flying saucers na nakita daw noong late 40’s at early 50’s nang mauso iyong pelikulang “War of the Worlds” ni H. G. Wells, baka sabihiin ng mga mokong iyong nawawalang mga piloto ng AFP kinuha ng mga aliens from outer space. Asuuuuuuus!
Off-topic: Isn’t the US the Terrorist of the World?
Official investigations have found that US-led air strikes a week ago killed 64 people, most of them women and children, the heads of separate investigation teams said Friday.
The team that looked into Sunday’s strike in the remote Deh Bala district of Nangarhar told Agence France-Presse they were shown the bloodied clothes of women and children killed in the strike that hit a wedding party and turned left buildings into rubble.
It must be very difficult for Mrs. Mercado and Mrs. Soriano. There is no closure.
I can only feel nothing but sadness to the Mercado’s and Soriano’s families to not knowing what happen to their love ones. November 26 of 2007 and to date still remain a mystery to the dissapearance of both pilots, must’ve been very difficult to the families. If anybody to blame, I’d probably direct to the incompetent of the Philippines military and the commander-in-thief, whore Gloria.
Like I said in an earlier thread that at that time, the dogs of Assperon feared that these planes were in the hands of the sympathizers of Magdalo, who, three days after the planes went missing, occupied Manila Pen.
Noticed that no chopper or plane even tried to get near the Hotel at the time?
Susmaryosep! Kaya pala no one, from the fake commander-in-chief Gloria to the immediate bisor Oban, dared to explain what happened to the two Air force pilots. Sila ang tumira!