MANILA – Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa escaped a fatal incident when the helicopter he was aboard, traveling from Imus, Cavite to Baguio City, crashed in Nueva Ecija on Saturday afternoon.
In a media interview on Monday, Dela Rosa confirmed that he was a passenger on an R44 light helicopter piloted by Julia Flori Monzon Po, who had dropped him off in Baguio City prior to the crash.
“Hinatid niya ako sa Baguio, then dumaan pa siya somewhere in Pangasinan para magpa-gas, then lumipad na siya and bumagsak sa Nueva Ecija,” Dela Rosa said.
The senator added that he did not observe any engine issues during the flight and remarked that the weather conditions were favorable at the time.
“I don’t know about that (engine failure) kasi nung pinick up nila ako sa Imus, Cavite hindi pa naman namatay ‘yung makina, okay pa naman ‘yung makina, and the weather was very good,” Dela Rosa said.
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) reported on Sunday that one individual, identified as Po, lost her life in the helicopter crash that occurred in Guimba, Nueva Ecija on Saturday.
According to CAAP, the Robinson helicopter, registered as RP-C 4324, departed from Manila at 10:22 a.m. on Saturday, en route to Baguio, where it successfully dropped off a passenger.
The helicopter took off from Baguio at 11:51 a.m. and landed in Binalonan, Pangasinan at 12:05 p.m. for refueling. However, it did not depart immediately after refueling and only took off again at 4:30 p.m.
The Guimba Police Station received a report from a concerned citizen at 5:20 p.m. regarding the helicopter crash in Barangay San Miguel. They quickly responded to the scene and found the helicopter with tail number RP-C3424 in a marshy area./PN
