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Zero visibility mars Sen. Roxas’ flight to Tarlac


MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Manuel Roxas II’s scheduled trip to Tarlac was briefly disrupted after a five-seater helicopter he was on board took an emergency landing in neighboring Pampanga province. Roxas’s media relations officer, Bobby Capco, told reporters in a text message that the senator flew off from the Manila Domestic Airport in Manila at about 8 a.m. en route to Tarlac to deliver a speech at a graduation ceremony at the Tarlac State University. Roxas’s team was expected to arrive at Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac at 8:40 a.m. While hovering over Pampanga, the chopper that Roxas and his team were on board encountered thick clouds, forcing its pilot to look for the nearest and safest landing area. “Papunta kami ng Tarlac pero doon kami inabutan ng makapal na ulap. [We were bound for Tarlac but thick clouds appeared while we were in Pampanga]," Roxas told radio dzBB in an interview. After scouring for a safe landing for half-an-hour, the chopper’s pilot spotted a clearing on a rice field in Barangay Arenas in Arayat town. “Senator Roxas landed safely in a rice field somewhere in Pampanga after 20 minutes of zero visibility and struggling to find clearing to avoid clouds at Mount Arayat," Capco said. Not wanting to disappoint the graduating students, Roxas said his team still pursued to reach Tarlac “by land." As for the chopper, “Aantayin na lang ng mga piloto na magbukas ang mga ulap [The pilots will just wait for the sky to clear before they take off anew]," Capco said. The senator – one of the few politicians to express intentions to run for president in 2010 – was still able to make it to the graduation rites, where he recounted his aerial ordeal before a group of students during his speech. Roxas also took the opportunity to thank a local villager – who the senator referred to as a “good Samaritan"- in Arayat town who accommodated him and his team while waiting for their ride to Tarlac, said Capco. “Gusto kong magpasalamat sa mga tumulong sa akin. Malakas ang ulan at si Dennis Sula ay lumapit at sinabi na kami ay sumilong sa kanyang barong barong at in-offeran ng kape. [Ito ay nagpapakita ng] bait at kagandahang-loob ng mga Pinoy," Roxas said. [I wish to thank Dennis Sula who offered his humble home and offered us coffee. This shows the kindness and goodness of Filipinos.] - Mark Merueñas with Amita Legaspi, GMANews.TV
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