On PAF's Gen. Lacson: 'He was a consummate professional soldier'

A consummate professional who often cracks jokes about his Visayan accent. This was how Gen. Victor Ibrado, Armed Forces Chief of Staff, remembered his colleague Maj. Gen. Mario “Butch" Lacson, whose life was cut short by a plane crash in Cotabato City on Thursday. "Gen. Lacson is a very professional officer. Hindi umaangal sa assignments. Hindi umaangal sa trabaho (Doesn’t complain about assignments, doesn’t complain about work)," said Ibrado, adding he was taken aback by the incident as he and Lacson were just exchanging jokes last Wednesday. Lacson, commander of the 3rd Air Division of the Philippine Air Force (PAF), was among the eight passengers of the ill-fated PAF Nomad plane that burst into flames after plowing through a residential area in Cotabato City just 10 minutes after takeoff. The other passengers were identified as Capt. Genaro Gaylord Ordoño, the pilot; Lt. Angelica Valdez, co-pilot; Sgt. Jeffrey Gozum; Major Prisco Tacuboy; 2Lt. Alexander Ian Lipaen; SSgt. Ronaldo Mejia; and Sgt. Ian Cristy Marose Llamera.
Lacson, a native of Misamis Oriental, was a Saguisag ng Ulirang Kawal awardee and was set to retire on November 24, 2011 when he would have reached the mandatory retirement age of 56. He had two masters degrees. Before taking over as 3rd Air Division, Lacson was commander of the 560th Air Base Command. He also served as acting commander of the military Western COmmand in Puerto Pricesa city in Palawan; commander of the 2nd Tactical Operations Wing, commander of the 505th Search and Rescue Group; and chief of the Air Force Management Information Center. A friend who 'died too soon' Lt. Airos Soria, a buddy of Lt. Valdez, the female co-pilot of the ill-fated Nomad plane, was still in disbelief after learning that her good friend and mentor was among the fatalities. Soria said Valdez taught her everything she needed to know as a rookie, and was always there to assist her — from shining her shoes to ironing her skirt. Soria said Valdez also inspired her to join the PAF, according to a GMA News report by Marisol Abduhraman. "You died so soon. Hindi pa ako nakapag-flying. Tapos hindi ko na siya naabutan," said the weeping Soria, who lamented that Valdez would no longer be around to witness her flying her first airplane.
Valdez, a native of Nueva Ecija, was a member of the Class 2006 of the Philippine Military Academy. Meanwhile, PAF spokesman Lt. Col. Gerardo Zamudio Jr. said the remaining three Nomad planes are temporarily grounded as part of standard operating procedures, although he clarified that the plane was in good condition before it took off. An 18-man team will be deployed to the crash site to investigate the accident. —JV, GMANews.TV