Happy bumping Mr. President

Yesterday President Aquino discovered that it’s no fun to land on Catarman’s runway on board of a Philippine Air Force C-130 Hercules cargo plane.

Photo courtesy of wikipedia.org

The usual Fokker F-28 presidential plane had had some problems last week during a trip from Dumaguete to Cebu. So the President had to fly with a PAF C-130 cargo plane.

But one trouble comes rarely alone. The 1600 meter airstrip in Catarman (Samar) is crossed by what Pinoys call a highway (inside red circle). And this highway is dirty as hell. So Mr. Aquino’s plane bumped over the rocks and an astonished president left the plane without injuries (the fasten seat-belt light seemed to have been working).

Some airlines had already ceased plying the Manila-Catarman route as the number of passengers using the airport had dwindled through the years because of safety concerns. The President learned from local officials that the runway has been in a state of disrepair for the last 40 years. The President was also greeted with the unseemly sight of a dilapidated terminal in dire need of a fresh coat of paint and major renovations.

Right then, the President decided to provide allocation for the rehabilitation of the terminal and the upgrading of the runway.

[Editor’s conclusion:] Mr. President should travel more inside his country to discover the desolate state of roads, runways, railways and ports. And yes, what about a VTOL plane for the President?