Jamaine Punzalan

Article (news)

Bianca Dava

Katrina Domingo

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA — Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. pushed Wednesday to strengthen the country’s disaster response through the use of drones following the crash of a Philippine Air Force (PAF) Super Huey helicopter assisting typhoon relief efforts. </p><p>Teodoro said the Department of National Defense (DND), through the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), is planning to integrate drone technology in disaster response and assessment tasks, which are currently reliant on PAF assets.</p><p>“Nagpaplano rin kami sa OCD, sa NDRRMC na may drone capability din for disaster assessments. Ngayon, heavily nagre-rely pa rin sa PAF assets. Yun ang interventions na ating gagawin,” Teodoro told reporters in a chance interview at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City. </p><p>Teodoro noted that the chopper crash showed the need to accelerate the modernization of the country’s search and rescue (SAR) capabilities.</p><p>“Gusto natin malaman ang puno’t dulo nito para hindi na maulit. Nonetheless, it is also a lesson na dapat talaga ang upgrading ng ating SAR assets dapat i-fast-track,” he said.</p><p><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2025/11/4/military-chopper-headed-to-typhoon-hit-areas-crashes-in-agusan-del-sur-1602">Six airmen </a>aboard the Super Huey helicopter—including two pilots and four crew members—were killed in the mishap.</p><p>According to PAF spokesperson Colonel Ma. Christina Basco, the chopper had taken off from Davao City along with three other aircraft—two Black Hawks and one Bell helicopter.</p><p>The helicopters were bound for Butuan City when communication was lost with the Super Huey. The other aircraft traced its location and later confirmed the crash site in Agusan del Sur.</p><p>Basco said the investigation was <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/11/5/air-force-probing-all-angles-in-chopper-crash-1344">looking into all possible factors</a> behind the crash, including weather conditions, technical or mechanical issues, and human error.</p><div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fweb.facebook.com%2Freel%2F857533823606432%2F&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=560&amp;t=0" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div> </div><div><strong>PALACE PROMISES HELP</strong></div><p>Meanwhile, Malacañang condoled with the families of the 6 PAF personnel, saying that their kin will receive the benefits due to them under the law.</p><p>“Ayon din po sa Pangulo, ipinapaabot niya ang kanyang pakikiramay sa pamilya ng mga nasawi na mga bayani ng ating bansa,” Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said.</p><p>“Lahat ng tulong na nararapat ay dapat na iparating sa mga naapektuhan na pamilya,” she said.</p><p>Malacañang reiterated the Department of National Defense’s statement that the 6 personnel’s “duty and sacrifice would always be remembered especially as these were made in their service of our fellow Filipinos facing the effects of Typhoon Tino.”</p><p>Under the law, the immediate family of the deceased PAF personnel shall receive a sum of money amounting to the “average 6 months salary, including allowances and bonuses” of their departed relative.</p><p>The surviving spouse of the deceased will also be given assistance and priority in “employment in a government agency or office where her qualifications are fitted,” while their children “shall be extended scholarship up to college in a nonexclusive institution, subject to the policies on the tuition of said institution.”</p><div><br style="caret-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"/></div>

<p>Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. pushed Wednesday to strengthen the country’s disaster response through the use of drones following the crash of a Philippine Air Force (PAF) Super Huey helicopter assisting typhoon relief efforts.</p>

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. pushed Wednesday to strengthen the country’s disaster response through the use of drones following the crash of a Philippine Air Force (PAF) Super Huey helicopter assisting typhoon relief efforts.

Teodoro pushes for drone capability after military chopper crash

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Teodoro pushes for drone capability after military chopper crash

Bianca Dava,

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Nov 05, 2025 03:32 PM PHT

|

Updated Nov 05, 2025 07:58 PM PHT

Read More:

Super Huey

helicopter

chopper

crash

Typhoon Tino

Agusan del Sur

Philippine Air Force

drones

Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr.

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