Senator Ronald ‘Bato’ Dela Rosa expressed sorrow and sympathy to the bereaved family of the 25-year-old female pilot who died in a helicopter crash incident this Saturday.
In an interview, Dela Rosa said that he is heartbroken over the incident, sharing deep empathy and condolences especially to the parents of the young pilot.
“Ang hirap…ang hirap tanggapin. Heartbroken ako ngayon dahil nakita ko ‘yung bata na very bright ang future, 25 years old. Nakakasama talaga ng loob,” he stated.
“It really breaks my heart kasi, inimagine ko kagabi doon noong nandoon ako sa wake…yakap-yakap ko yung father atsaka mother noong piloto—25 years old, very young. Inimagine ko how would I feel kapag yung anak ko rin na piloto, na babae rin, ay ganon ang mangyari sa anak ko. Hindi ko ma-imagine, napahirap tanggapin, ” he added.
The said pilot was Julia Flori Monzon Po, who died after her helicopter crashed into a creek in Nueva Ecija around 5pm last Saturday.
Although alone when rescued, Dela Rosa revealed that he was the last passenger of Po before the incident happened.
Dela Rosa said that Po personally offered to fly him and two of his security escorts from Imus, Cavite to Baguio for an engagement.
He recalled advising Po to just drop them off of Baguio, hence, reason why Po was alone on her flight back to Manila.
“Ayaw ko ma-sacrifice ‘yung oras dahil nga magsara agad ‘yung clouds diyan sa Baguio kaya sabi ko i-drop na lang ako doon. Pag-drop, uwi na kaagad siya. ‘Yun lang ang paki-usap ko, drop off lang ako,” he noted.
From Baguio, Po refueled in Binalonan, Pangasinan before taking off for Manila.
Despite being among the last passengers before the incident, Dela Rosa said that he did not feel anything wrong or unusual during their flight to Baguio.
“Very smooth ang flight namin going to Baguio, napakasmooth at masaya kami doon sa flight. Wala akong naramdaman na anything na unusual. Very good ang weather, wala akong nakitang bad weather.“
He also ruled out questions on flying skills of Po as a possible reason for the crash, emphasizing that the female pilot was skilled and competent.
“Magaling, magaling na pilot ‘yon. Very skilled, very competent,” Dela Rosa said.
Meanwhile, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines is now probing into the possible reason of the crash.