Philippine air force prepares for troop pullout from Iraq

The Philippine Air Force (PAF) is making preparations for the pullout of Philippine humanitarian contingent from Iraq as it awaits final word from their commander-in-chief Tuesday.

Two C-130 planes are being readied at Benito Ebuen Air Base in the central Philippine island of Cebu to airlift the 51-man Philippine contingent back to the country, Lieutenant Colonel Restituto Padilla told reporters.

He said the planes can accommodate 80-100 passengers and will send the troops and possibly, Angelo de la Cruz when he is freed by his Iraqi captors, back home. Five to six pilots and 15 aircrew will man the flight to Iraq.

It will take at least a day for the PAF to secure permits from Thailand, India, Pakistan, Kuwait and Iraq to use the countries' airspace, Padilla said.

The flights to Iraq will take 18 hours with one stopover for refuelling, he added.

He said the cost of evacuating the humanitarian contingents is pegged at 6.6 million pesos (118,470.6 US dollars), more expensive than using commercial flights.

The preparations are in line with the announcement Tuesday afternoon by the Philippine government that it will withdraw its troops "as soon as possible" to save Cruz, a 46-year-old Philippine truck driver abducted last week as he drove into Iraq from Saudi Arabia by the group calling itself "Khaled Ibn al-Walid Brigade".

Earlier, the abductors said the Philippines had until Early Tuesday, Manila time, to agree to withdraw its humanitarian contingent from Iraq by July 20 or Cruz would be executed.

The Arroyo administration had previously said it would not change plans to withdraw its 51-member contingent, all working on humanitarian projects, as scheduled on August 20.

Source: Xinhua