4th of July and the 1st Aviation Summit!

Call me bullheaded and persistent but once more let me say it here that my generation always celebrated the 4th of July as the Independence Day of the Philippines when the United States granted us full independence on July 4, 1946 and all the sovereign nations of the free world recognized our status as a free and sovereign state. In truth, the Filipino people achieved full independence when the American flag was brought down and the Philippine flag was raised… this is our history and it happened 63 years ago!

It’s about time we properly fixed the dates of our historic events. What I am writing here is historically correct and even calling today Philippine-American Friendship Day doesn’t change what happened 63 years ago. Someday, we shall elect a president who will undo the wrongs of the past presidents and set the record straight for history’s sake.

Meanwhile, in Cebu, the American Chamber (AmCham) will be holding its annual 4th of July celebration at the Marriott Hotel and knowing how AmCham director John Domingo organizes a party, I’m sure it would be a rousing and spectacular party despite the historical defects!

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I was in Manila last Wednesday to attend the First Aviation Summit of the Philippine Aviation Society, which was held at the Philippine Air Force Museum in Villamor Air Base. Our very own Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) General Manager Danilo Francia is the Aviation Society’s president and organizer of that event. As it was my first time to visit the PAF Museum, I was like a little kid, taking pictures of old PAF aircraft. Based on what former PAF chief Ramon Farolan wrote recently about P-51 “Mustangs” let me say that the glory days of the PAF were at the time when the Americans had the US bases in Clark and Subic.

The 1st Aviation Summit coincided with the 62nd anniversary of the PAF, and one thing I learned about that anniversary is that, it has already been moved a couple of times, which is another concrete proof that Filipinos change their history every now and then. But it was an opportunity to meet old friends like former PAF chief Gen. Loven Abadia (1991-1992) who in 1974-1975 was team leader of the famous Blue Diamonds aerobatic group using Northrop F-5s (his F-5 named “Haring Tupas” is on display at the Air Force Museum) at what I would say were the glory days of the PAF.

Also on our table was former PAF chief Gen. William Hotchkiss (1996-1999) and PAF Gen. Gilbert Llanto (ret.), a very good friend of mine, who when he became general I never got to meet anymore as he was detailed at the PAF headquarters. With us was a fellow I had not met since our ROTC days more than 43 years ago. He’s retired PAF Col. Fidel Dacalos, who was our corps commander at the University of San Carlos (USC) in 1966-1967. It was the year that USC was awarded the Star for the Best ROTC in Cebu!

We also met Ninoy Aquino International Airport Authority (NAIA) General Manager Al Cusi; former Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) Secretary Vicente Rivera during Erap’s time; recently retired PAF chief Pedro Cadungog from Ginatilan; Avelino Zapanta, former PAL president, now CEO of SEAIR; and Candace Iyog of Cebu Pacific Air. It was also a time to meet my new friends like Capt. Joy Roa of Air Safari TV fame, whose TV show my wife and I never miss!

The summit’s keynote speaker was Defense Secretary Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. who talked about producing high-quality Filipino specialists in the aviation industry, from crack pilots to mechanics. He emphasized that the Filipino attitude of “pwede na” is “di na pwede!” and should be thrown away! How true! Automotive mechanics can be a bit lax when fixing cars because if an accident happens, only a few people would get hurt. But you can never do this on an aircraft. A case in point is the recent Airbus crash in the Comoros Islands which was suspected of having poor maintenance.

Secretary Teodoro also quoted author Art Friedman (who wrote The World is Flat) who suggested that we should “innovate, innovate, innovate.” Teodoro pointed out that we must innovate so we could catch up with just our mediocre neighbors! He believes that the aviation industry will survive despite the global financial downturn because it is a necessity, not a luxury.

The other speakers were former DOTC chief Vicente Rivera; Director General Ruben Ciron of the CAAP (formerly the Civil Aeronautics Board); Lt. Gen. Oscar Rabena, currently the PAF chief; and of course, Gen. Danilo Francia who set the tone for the Aviation Summit. With the Aviation Society in place, we can hope for more exciting times in the aviation industry like a balloon festival here in Cebu or Davao? Why not?

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