Defense Secretary Teodoro condemns ‘sarcastic’ comments vs. four fallen military pilots

MANILA – Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Monday condemned the "sarcastic and inhuman" comments on social media that belittled the deaths of four military pilots during an air mishap in Lipa City, Batangas on Oct. 23.

In an interview in Makati City, Teodoro said the comments, which questioned the professionalism and skill of the fallen pilots, were unacceptable.

He said the comments also showed the netizens’ lack of knowledge in military aviation.

"Unang-una, ang military flying, ang tactical skill ng isang military aviator ay (sa) formation flying, pasikipan ‘yan ng formation. Unang unang ang benepisyo ng masikip ang formation, ang radar target lumiliit, ngayon sinasanay ito sa training (in military flying, one of the tactical skills a military aviator needs to master is formation flying, the tighter the formation the better, as the benefit from this is a smaller radar target, that's why our pilots are trained for such maneuvers)," he said.

He said people behind the unkind remarks are unworthy to be called Filipinos.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. had ordered a thorough investigation into the mid-air collision at Fernando Air Base, the third incident involving the SF-260 trainer aircraft.

Two SF-260s crashed during training flights in Benguet in May and in Bataan in January 2023, also leaving four pilots dead.

Priam F. Nepomuceno/Philippine News Agency