LINGAYEN, Pangasinan, Philippines — A light aircraft on Tuesday exploded on landing at an airport here at about 10 a.m., police said.
Chief Inspector Realito Rodriguez, deputy police chief of Lingayen, said Japhit Chua and Raven John Mirasol, both student pilots who were seen boarding the plane here at 9:25 a.m., were missing.
He said policemen and rescuers did not find Chua or Mirasol in the plane or near the crash site.
Citing witnesses' accounts, Rodriguez said the plane (body number RP-C8204) veered off the runway as it touched down. It then crashed into a concrete wall and exploded.
Officials of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines here declined to issue a statement pending an investigation. (report from Gabriel Cardinoza, Inquirer Northern Luzon)
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Arroyo hails Reyes for ‘courage, patriotic service’
MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE) Former president and Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo hailed former Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes for his “courage and patriotic service” as she condoled with his family over the untimely death.
“We join the family, friends and colleagues of Secretary Angelo Reyes in mourning his tragic passing. … We pray for the repose of his soul, and call on our people to remember above all his courage and patriotic service,” Arroyo said through her spokesperson Elena Horn-Bautista.
Arroyo said Reyes “served his country well in uniform and in the halls of government, particularly at a critical moment in our history when our people called for radical reform of governance, an extraordinary time that demanded extraordinary measures.”
Arroyo personally went to see Reyes at the Quirino Memorial Medical Center where he was brought after reportedly shooting himself.
In separate text messages, former colleagues of Reyes in the Arroyo Cabinet expressed sympathy to his family over his death.
Bohol Representative and former Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said Reyes was not only a colleague in government service, but a family friend.
"Manong Angie [Reyes] saw me grow up playing tennis with his kids. He was a friend of my father. We continue to be in shock over what has happened and find it difficult to say much at this point except that we will sorely miss him,” Yap said.
Former presidential legislative liaison office head Jake Lagonera also expressed shock over the incident.
“Angie was a friend. I knew him as a good and honorable man. We worked together and I always found him to be a gentleman. He will be missed,” he said.
Former Public Works Secretary Vic Domingo remembered Reyes as a man who deeply cared for the environment.
“I remember working with Secretary Reyes on the reforestation of the denuded mountains around Catbalogan [Samar] while I was presidential assistant for Eastern Visayas. He was a man who cared deeply for the environment ,” Domingo said.
Reyes served as chief of staff, defense secretary, local government secretary and energy secretary during the nine-year administration of Arroyo from 2001 to 2010. He played a large role in catapulting Arroyo to power when, as Armed Forces chief, he led the military in ousting then president Joseph Estrada in a second “people power revolt.” (report from Lira Dalangin-Fernandez, Inquirer.net)
“We join the family, friends and colleagues of Secretary Angelo Reyes in mourning his tragic passing. … We pray for the repose of his soul, and call on our people to remember above all his courage and patriotic service,” Arroyo said through her spokesperson Elena Horn-Bautista.
Arroyo said Reyes “served his country well in uniform and in the halls of government, particularly at a critical moment in our history when our people called for radical reform of governance, an extraordinary time that demanded extraordinary measures.”
Arroyo personally went to see Reyes at the Quirino Memorial Medical Center where he was brought after reportedly shooting himself.
In separate text messages, former colleagues of Reyes in the Arroyo Cabinet expressed sympathy to his family over his death.
Bohol Representative and former Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said Reyes was not only a colleague in government service, but a family friend.
"Manong Angie [Reyes] saw me grow up playing tennis with his kids. He was a friend of my father. We continue to be in shock over what has happened and find it difficult to say much at this point except that we will sorely miss him,” Yap said.
Former presidential legislative liaison office head Jake Lagonera also expressed shock over the incident.
“Angie was a friend. I knew him as a good and honorable man. We worked together and I always found him to be a gentleman. He will be missed,” he said.
Former Public Works Secretary Vic Domingo remembered Reyes as a man who deeply cared for the environment.
“I remember working with Secretary Reyes on the reforestation of the denuded mountains around Catbalogan [Samar] while I was presidential assistant for Eastern Visayas. He was a man who cared deeply for the environment ,” Domingo said.
Reyes served as chief of staff, defense secretary, local government secretary and energy secretary during the nine-year administration of Arroyo from 2001 to 2010. He played a large role in catapulting Arroyo to power when, as Armed Forces chief, he led the military in ousting then president Joseph Estrada in a second “people power revolt.” (report from Lira Dalangin-Fernandez, Inquirer.net)
Suicide one of the biggest sins against life — Bishop Iñiguez
MANILA, Philippines — It is one of the biggest crimes and sins against life. If a person committed suicide, he is not allowed a Christian burial.
This was what Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez said in a Radyo Inquirer interview Tuesday regarding the alleged suicide of former Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes who was recently tagged in massive corruption in the military.
Iñiguez, however, said that Reyes could still be granted a Christian burial “if there is any doubt that it was a deliberate suicide or there were signs of repentance before he died.” (report from Inquirer.net / DZIQ-Radyo Inquirer)
This was what Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez said in a Radyo Inquirer interview Tuesday regarding the alleged suicide of former Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes who was recently tagged in massive corruption in the military.
Iñiguez, however, said that Reyes could still be granted a Christian burial “if there is any doubt that it was a deliberate suicide or there were signs of repentance before he died.” (report from Inquirer.net / DZIQ-Radyo Inquirer)
Reyes said ‘sorry’ — eyewitness
MANILA, Philippines — “Sorry” was the last word that former Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes uttered when he committed suicide Tuesday morning in front of the grave of her mother at the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina City.
This was according to a Radyo Inquirer interview with Feliciano Recorba, a contractual maintenance staff at the Loyala Memorial Park, who rushed to help Reyes upon hearing a gunshot.
“Ang narinig ko po na sinabi niya ay sorry, palagay ko po ay para sa anak [I heard him say sorry, perhaps to his son],” Recorba told Radyo Inquirer. (report from Don Lejano, DZIQ-Radyo Inquirer)
Australian fires destroy 68 homes
PERTH - Firefighters on Tuesday brought a raging wildfire that destroyed 68 houses and damaged 32 others near the Australian city of Perth under control, officials said.
As soldiers and emergency workers helped clean up and repair battered towns on the country's east coast and restore electricity to residents hit by top-strength Cyclone Yasi last week, blazes burned in the west.
"One hundred... firefighters have worked throughout the day and into the night to contain the fire," the Western Australia fire service said after an all-night battle to control a devastating fire that erupted Sunday.
Fast and unpredictable flames swept through rugged terrain at Roleystone, on Perth's southern fringes, and along its northern outskirts at Red Hill, levelling 68 homes and scorching hundreds of hectares (acres) of forest.
The smouldering ruins of houses dotted the landscape on the outskirts of the country's fourth largest city, as the flames that sent residents fleeing from their homes into emergency shelters died down.
"We are talking hundreds of people (homeless), with 68 homes, that's 68 families, that are affected," said Allen Gale of the state Fire and Emergency Services agency.
About 150 firefighters worked through the night to dig fire breaks and strengthen containment lines around the Roleystone blaze, which has burnt about 440 hectares (1,100 acres).
Officials said that despite the ferocious flames, firefighters managed to save a number of homes, sheds and fences from the fire, which was accidentally sparked by someone using an angle grinder.
No deaths or serious injuries were reported, but a fireman was in a stable condition in hospital after being hit by a vehicle while several other people were treated for smoke inhalation.
The fire came just four days after Cyclone Yasi hit Queensland state, wreaking at least Aus$500 million ($500 million) in crop damage, and weeks after record flooding that killed more than 30 people and swamped tens of thousands of homes in Queensland and Victoria.
An especially strong La Nina weather system, typically bringing cyclones and floods to Australia, has been blamed for the extreme conditions. (report from Agence France-Presse)
As soldiers and emergency workers helped clean up and repair battered towns on the country's east coast and restore electricity to residents hit by top-strength Cyclone Yasi last week, blazes burned in the west.
"One hundred... firefighters have worked throughout the day and into the night to contain the fire," the Western Australia fire service said after an all-night battle to control a devastating fire that erupted Sunday.
Fast and unpredictable flames swept through rugged terrain at Roleystone, on Perth's southern fringes, and along its northern outskirts at Red Hill, levelling 68 homes and scorching hundreds of hectares (acres) of forest.
The smouldering ruins of houses dotted the landscape on the outskirts of the country's fourth largest city, as the flames that sent residents fleeing from their homes into emergency shelters died down.
"We are talking hundreds of people (homeless), with 68 homes, that's 68 families, that are affected," said Allen Gale of the state Fire and Emergency Services agency.
About 150 firefighters worked through the night to dig fire breaks and strengthen containment lines around the Roleystone blaze, which has burnt about 440 hectares (1,100 acres).
Officials said that despite the ferocious flames, firefighters managed to save a number of homes, sheds and fences from the fire, which was accidentally sparked by someone using an angle grinder.
No deaths or serious injuries were reported, but a fireman was in a stable condition in hospital after being hit by a vehicle while several other people were treated for smoke inhalation.
The fire came just four days after Cyclone Yasi hit Queensland state, wreaking at least Aus$500 million ($500 million) in crop damage, and weeks after record flooding that killed more than 30 people and swamped tens of thousands of homes in Queensland and Victoria.
An especially strong La Nina weather system, typically bringing cyclones and floods to Australia, has been blamed for the extreme conditions. (report from Agence France-Presse)
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