MANILA — Philippine Air Force Lieutenant April John Dadulla was just eleven days away from marrying fellow fighter jet pilot First Lieutenant Alyssa Columbino when tragedy struck.

Dadulla was among the two pilots who died when their FA-50 lead-in trainer fighter jet crashed into Mount Kalatungan in Bukdinon past midnight on Tuesday.

Jovelen, Dadulla’s older brother, said that he last spoke to him on Saturday to discuss preparations for his March 15 wedding.

“Last ko siyang nakausap, sa chat lang, Saturday, nagtatanong siya kung bibilhan ba namin ng wheelchair yung Papa namin para mabilis ang pagtransport sa susunod na linggo para sa kanyang kasal,” Jovelen told ABS-CBN News in a phone interview on Thursday.

“Nabanggit niya na plano niyang pagkatapos ng kasal, gusto niya munang magspend ng ilang araw o linggo kasama ang mapapangasawa niya,” he added.

Dadulla in 2019 joined the Philippine Air Force, where he met his fiancee.

“I am so proud of you, my love. You will always be in my heart,” Columbino posted on social media as she paid tribute to Dadulla. “I love you and ‘til we meet again.”

The 29-year-old pilot hailed from Manolo Fortich in Bukidnon, where his promising life was tragically cut short.

“Nakakalungkot na malaman na dito pa talaga nangyari yun sa kanya,” Jovelen said. “Si AJ ay nakapagbuwis ng kanyang buhay para sa bayan. Sa ganun, medyo gumagaan ang aming pakiramdam.”

He thanked the soldiers and civilian volunteers who helped retrieve the bodies of the two pilots.

“Gusto ko lang magpasalamat sa lahat ng tumulong para makuha [ang remains], lalo na sa PAF… mga sundalong naghanap kahit na malamig at gabi na ay hinanap pa rin nila ang aking kapatid. Kasama na rin ang civilian volunteers,” he said.

In a post on Facebook, the Civil Relations Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines honored Dadulla and his co-pilot, Major Jude Salang-oy, for their service and sacrifice.

Philippine Air Force spokesperson Colonel Ma. Consuelo Castillo said the remains of the pilots will undergo forensic examination before being flown to the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City for military honors.

Awards will be given to the deceased soldiers.

“This is a different kind of accident. It’s an aircraft accident involving a high-speed aircraft that went down into the mountain. We could just imagine the state of the bodies. We do not want to delve into the details but we have to make sure that the remains that we got from the pilots are from the pilots that are really identified,” Castillo told reporters in a chance interview at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

“Our pilots are very proficient and competent in flying this aircraft for several years… and we honor them for their heroism and service,” she noted.

According to Castillo, Air Force investigators were on their way to the crash site.

The fighter jet’s flight data recorder has also been recovered, she added.

“They [Investigators] will look at the general area, aircraft parts,” the PAF official said. “They already had an initial investigation on the processes, tactics, techniques and procedures carried out for the mission.”

“The flight data recorder will be brought to experts. What we’re going to find there are the flight data, altitude, air speed, flight path,” she continued.

The FA-50 aircraft was providing close air support to ground troops conducting an operation against members of the New People’s Army in Barangay Iba in Cabanglasan town when it lost communication with the rest of the flight.

AFP spokesperson Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla said pursuit operations against the NPA continue in Eastern Mindanao.

“Grupo ito na malakihan ang numbers and we have major personalities that are involved,” Padilla said.

“Nandun ang drive ng ating mga sundalo on the ground to really pursue the operations to completion,” she added.

Even before Tuesday’s fatal crash, the PAF had proposed purchasing an additional 12 FA-50 units from South Korea as part of Re-Horizon 3 of the AFP modernization program

The request is currently under consideration at the Department of National Defense.

“There are systems we follow in order to acquire our hardware and aircraft, and this is one of them. But they did make in certain terms their desire to have more of these aircraft.”

“I’m not privy to the status. I know it’s on the drawing board already,” DND spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arsenio Andolong said on Thursday.

He went on, “So far, the FA-50 has a very good track record in the service, so I don’t think it will be an issue, although I don’t want to jump the gun on any decision that will be taken by the AFP and DND.”

The PAF has grounded its remaining 11 FA-50 aircraft while investigation into the fighter jet crash is ongoing.