Phl sympathizes with Malaysia

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine government yesterday expressed sympathy to the families of the passengers of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 following Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s announcement that the missing plane had crashed in the Indian Ocean.

“Our thoughts are with the families of all those aboard MH370 as they continue to hope for closure on this tragedy,” Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. of the Presidential Communications Operations Office said.

“We hope that the continuing search for the missing plane will yield more concrete results,” Coloma added.

Flight MH370 took off from Kuala Lumpur on March 8 with 239 passengers and flight crew.

Citing groundbreaking satellite data analysis by the British company Inmarsat, Najib said the plane, which vanished while flying to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur, had crashed thousands of miles away in the southern Indian Ocean.

The Malaysian leader is expected to be in Manila tomorrow for the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Kuala Lumpur facilitated the peace talks.

Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to pursue measures to effectively screen pilot applicants as well as students of flying schools.

CAAP director general John Andrews said the agency has asked its ASEAN counterparts for shared information on pilot applicants.

Reports said the pilot of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 that crashed in the Indian Ocean studied in the Philippines.

Pilot Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah reportedly trained at the Philippine Airlines aviation school in Pasay City from 1980 to 1981. – With Lawrence Agcaoili