President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the presidential plane to be converted into an air ambulance.
The order came Monday after a visit to Camp Licente Lucban in Catbalogan City, Samar.
President Duterte said the Fokker F-28 jet would better serve the Filipino people by being used to transport the sick and wounded to hospitals throughout the country.
“I am comfortable with PAL and Cebu Pacific, it has been a long time since the last crash,” he said.
“I am comfortable with taking commercial flights and sometimes a private jet.”
The Fokker F-28 is primarily used to transport the president to domestic destinations – the fleet also includes a Fokker F-27, four Bell 412 helicopters, three Sikorsky S-76 helicopters and one S-70 Black Hawk.
When a President takes a trip abroad, the use of a Bombardier Learjet 60, Challenger 850 or they often charter a Philippine Airlines aircraft.
Yesterday Duterte arrived at his engagement late due to the breakdown of the aircraft he was flying in. “We had to borrow another,” he said.