Senator Imee Marcos on Sunday raised concern over the presence of at least two more C-17 Globemasters of the US Air Force in Manila and Palawan.
While acknowledging the ongoing military exercises between the two countries, she said there is a need to shed light on the activities of US Air Force planes in Philippine air space.
Marcos earlier asked the Senate to investigate the mysterious activity of a US Air Force C-17 that landed at NAIA on June 26 at 8:08 am. and departed NAIA at 6:10 p.m. for Palawan — or a 10-hour unexplained gap.
“Too little is known about ongoing US military activity in our territory while we constantly call out the presence of Chinese vessels in the South China Sea,” the senator said.
She said the Senate hearing inquiry would discuss the US military’s possible violation of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).
Global flight tracker AirNav Systems showed that at 6:03 a.m. on Friday, July 7, a US Air Force C-17 with flight code MC244 / RCH244 landed in Manila from the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam.
It then flew to Palawan before 1 p.m. and headed for the Yokota Air Base in Japan later in the afternoon.
Although the plane’s call signal was repeatedly out of coverage during its journey, Marcos said flight tracker Flightradar24 recorded its departure from Palawan shortly before 4 p.m., Manila time.
Passengers on commercial flights to and from Manila’s international airport also noticed two US military planes near the runway and shared pictures with Marcos’ office.
On Saturday, a C-17 that took off from Tokyo the night before with flight code RCH323 was spotted north of Busuanga past 10 a.m., Marcos said.
It was off the radar until late afternoon when it again appeared in the same vicinity flying toward Polillo Island before exiting the Philippine territory past 6 p.m., she added.
The US Embassy in Manila earlier clarified that it has been coordinating with the Philippine government to grant permission for the entry of any US government aircraft into the country.
“The embassy coordinates with the Philippine government to receive diplomatic clearance for all US government aircraft that enter the Philippines,” acting US Embassy spokesperson Stephen Dove said in a statement after the June 26 arrival of US Air Force C-17.