January 16, 2025

Emmanuel "Manny" F. Piñol

Official Website

YOUNG NURSING STUDENT MAKES HISTORY AS THE FIRST TO FLY OUT OF M’LANG AIRPORT

Manny Piñol February 16, 2013 2 min read
A young nursing student of the San Pedro College school of nursing, whose mother happened to be the Barangay Chairperson of Tawantawan, M’lang made history yesterday as the first person to fly out of the Central Mindanao Airport.
Doreen Buenaflor, daughter of Barangay Chairperson Ringring Buenaflor, was the first passenger of veteran pilot Capt. Rey Acosta in the Ultralight plane owned by Col. Samuel G. Afdal.
Doreen’s great grandfather, Don Tomas Buenaflor, owned the 1,200 Hacienda Buenaflor where he 62-hectare airport area is now located.
The property was bought by the provincial government during my term as Governor for P200,000 per hectare and turned over to the Dept. of Transportation and Communications for development into an airport.
The slot was supposed to be for her mother, the Barangay chairperson, but she yielded for her young daughter who was very excited to take the ride in the small plane.
Capt. Acosta flew two more passengers, including Gaunan Barangay Chairman Abdullah Pananggolon, before he decided to abort the succeeding flights because of a near mishap.
As Capt. Acosta was landing, a motorcycle suddenly darted into the runway, prompting him to pull up and take another landing attempt.
“I wanted to fly more people but we cannot take the risk,” Capt. Acosta said.
This morning, Feb. 17, however, Capt. Acosta flew more flights over M’lang before he and Australian Capt. Sam Mente flew back to Mati, Davao Oriental where the Ultralight plane enthusiasts are keeping their planes.
Those who flew this morning included the newly-crowned Lakambini of the 1st Tulabong Festival, Jenny Echona, 15, Mayor Lito Pinol, Col. Pat Pinol, Mayor Efren Pinol’s son Frenn Angelo, myself and a barangay official.
(Photo caption: This photo, taken by Kabacan photography enthusiast Raffy Abellera, shows nursing student Doreen Buenaflor, before she was flown by Capt Rey Acosta (standing by the plane) in a historic flight from the Central Mindanao Airport in M’lang.)
More stories at www.mannypinol.com

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