MANILA, Philippines - Food deliveries don’t usually come by plane, but this was certainly no ordinary food delivery.
Yesterday, a blue Navy Islander plane dropped packs of Jollibee’s popular Chicken Joy and Jolly Peach Mango pies to the Marine troops at Ayungin Shoal.
“For a change and to boost the morale of our troops out there, we have decided, for the first time, to include in our air re-provisioning operation packs of Chicken Joy and non-perishable products from an all Filipino-owned food chain,†Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Emmanuel Bautista said.
The airdrop was part of the mission of the AFP to provide provisions to the troops at the grounded Navy ship BRP Sierra Madre on forward deployment to guard and secure Ayungin Shoal.
The operation took weeks of thorough and joint planning by the AFP and the Western Command (Wescom) in Palawan to ensure packages and supplies are delivered to the Marines in Ayungin Shoal.
“We have to supply those in the Ayungin first. The troops in the other islands will also have their Jollibee delivered later,†Bautista said.
Bautista noted that most of the returning troops relieved from forward deployment in the islands and shoals in the Spratlys bring their families to the nearest Jollibee outlet.
The Jollibee packs were dropped off from a Navy Islander plane that took off at the Puerto Princesa City airport.
The plane reached Ayungin after an hour and maneuvered overhead at 150 meters to drop the provisions to the troops.
The STAR joined the paradrop operations on an Air Force Nomad plane that Wescom dispatched to provide support to the Navy Islander plane.
As the Navy plane circled above the Sierra Madre to drop its cargo using special airdrop equipment, the Marine troops below had no idea what was in the packages.
Contacted later through radio, the troops on the ship cried out with joy upon learning the airdrop provisions included packs of Chicken Joy and Jolly Peach Mango pie.
One of the two packages landed squarely on deck while the other had to be retrieved from the sea.
Included in the sealed provisions were bundles of letters from pupils of a Puerto Princesa City elementary school praising the troops for their unselfish sacrifice in protecting the country’s sovereignty in the hotly contested region.
“We are grateful for your sacrifice in guarding the Ayungin Shoal. We will include you in our prayers in wishing that the Philippines and China would come to an understanding,†a pupil wrote in Filipino.
Wescom commander Lt. Gen. Roy Deveraturda said the airdrop operation is a routine undertaking of his command. Wescom has operational jurisdiction over the country’s maritime waters in the West Philippine Sea.
“We are doing this to remind our troops out there that we are thinking of their welfare 24/7 and at the same time, promote awareness among Filipinos that somewhere out there in the middle of an open sea, their soldiers, despite being exposed to the elements, remain dedicated in performing their sworn duties of guarding and protecting the country’s maritime sovereignty,†Deveraturda said.
The Sierra Madre was grounded in the area sometime in 1999 and has stood in the way of China’s creeping “invasion†of the entire region following its occupation in 1994 of Panganiban (Mischief) Reef, an area close to mainland Palawan.
China, citing historical facts, is laying claim to almost the entire South China Sea as an integral part of its maritime domain. Following its illegal occupation of Panatag Shoal near mainland Zambales almost two years ago, China has since last year set its sights on Ayungin Shoal.
The shoal, which is only 105 nautical miles from mainland Palawan, is highly strategic to China as it is very close to Panganiban Reef that Beijing occupied and has transformed into a highly fortified forward naval station.