Consul General in San Francisco to determine if
any Filipinos were hurt in Asiana Airline crash
The Philippine Consul General in San Francisco
is working with American authorities to determine if any Filipinos were
included in the Asiana Airlines crash upon landing at the San Francisco
International Airport on Saturday (Sunday in Manila), a Palace spokesperson
said on Sunday.
In a press briefing aired over government-run
radio station dzRB Radyo ng Bayan, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail
Valte said that initial reports from ConGen Marciano Paynor, Jr. was that no
Filipinos were on board Asiana Air that was coming in from Seoul, Korea when it
crashed but were still in the process of confirming it.
“Our fellow workers in the Consulate in San
Francisco are already there. I think Consul General (Marciano) Paynor, Jr. has
already sent and dispatched embassy officials to go to the airport to check on
if there were any Filipinos in the plane,” Valte said.
“So far negative pa po ang mga reports but
they’re still trying to get more information,” she added.
Valte said the Philippines is extending its
deepest sympathies and condolences with the families of two passengers who,
according to reports, perished in the crash.
“It is very unfortunate what happened. We
continue to hope that everybody is safe and we send out our condolences to the
families. The last time I checked there were (reports) of two casualties. We
send out our deepest sympathies and condolences to them as well as our well
wishes for the recovery of the injured,” she added.
A Boeing 777 airplane of Asiana Airlines
carrying 307 people from Seoul, Korea crashed upon landing at runway 28L of the
San Francisco International Airport on Saturday (Sunday in Manila).
Officials said 123 escaped without injury and
181 were hospitalized or treated for injuries. Among the injured, 49 are in
serious condition and five, including a child remain in critical condition at
San Francisco General Hospital. Among the 47 others at the hospital, several
were treated for minor injuries, including fractures and abrasions, and were
released Saturday night. PND (rck)
Malacanang says travel advisories 'right of any
country for safety of their citizens'
Malacanang brushed off the latest travel
advisory issued by the United States of America against travelling to the
southern portion of the Philippines, saying it was the right of any country in
order to keep their citizens safe.
Deputy Presidential Spokesperson said in a press
briefing aired over government-run radio station dzRB Radyo ng Bayan that the
Philippine government clearly understood the intentions of the travel advisory
as the Philippines, through its various diplomatic posts around the world, had
also issued similar advisories to Filipinos, the most recent of which, was for
Egypt and for Massachusetts during the Boston marathon bombing incident.
“We respect the right of any country to issue
any precautionary measures intended for the safety of their citizens while
visiting other countries in the same way that the Philippine government through
our posts in other countries have also issued several warnings whenever we feel
that our citizens should take extra precautions in light of events that are
happening,” Valte said.
One example (is the) one I mentioned yesterday
on the caution or the alert levels that we raised in Egypt due to the movements
there. I also remember the DFA Spokesperson mentioning that we did issue a
precautionary warning to our citizens residing in Boston right after the
bombing had taken place,” she added.
“You know, as a country we also recognize the
need of others to issue these precautionary measures to their citizens,” Valte
further said.
Valte pointed out that despite such travel
advisories to foreign visitors, the country posted two million tourist arrivals
for the first five months of 2013.
“This is the first time in Philippine history
that the country has reached the two million mark in the first five months of
the year. So makikita po naman natin na marami pa rin ang dumadating sa ating
bansa at talagang malaki ang katotohanan sa likod ‘nung ‘It’s more fun in the
Philippines’,” she added. PND (rck)
