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Gov’t aid asked for the kin of Pinoy victims in Malaysian Air crash

A veteran lawmaker has urged the government to extend its full assistance to the families of the three Filipinos who died when a Malaysian airliner crashed in Ukraine.

 

Valenzuela City Congressman Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian made the appeal amid news reports saying a missile blew Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 “out of the sky” on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, wherein 298 people died on board.

 

Ukraine pointed at pro-Moscow militants for the incident, saying a ground-to-air missile was used to attack the plane, while the Donetsk People’s Republic in Eastern Ukraine said a Ukrainian air force jet should be blamed.

“The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) should extend all possible aid to the families of the victims as soon as they are identified,” Gatchalian said, expressing his condolences.

 

The DFA has yet to receive information on the identities of the Filipino victims.

 

The lawmaker also denounced the killing of civilians, describing it as a “senseless act that can be committed only by people who have forgotten how it is to be human.”

Gatchalian also called for a speedy and transparent probe by the United Nations into the tragedy, which Ukrainian President Petro O. Poroshenko claimed is “not an incident or catastrophe” but a “terrorist attack”.

 

Last March, Malaysian Airlines’ MH-370 mysteriously disappeared on its way to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur, with 239 passengers and crew on board. (Monica Cantilero)