| Antonio Bautista Air Base | |
|---|---|
| Puerto Princesa,Palawan in Philippines | |
.jpg) Runway of Antonio Bautista Air Base | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Military airbase |
| Owner | Government of the Philippines |
| Operator | Philippine Air Force United States Air Force(under jurisdiction of Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement)[1] |
| Location | |
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| Coordinates | 09°44′39″N118°45′32″E / 9.74417°N 118.75889°E /9.74417; 118.75889 (Antonio Bautista Air Base, Philippine Air Force) |
| Site history | |
| Built | March 21, 1975; 50 years ago (1975-03-21) |
| Built by | USPOWs during Japanese occupation |
| In use | 1975–present (Philippines) |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison | 4th Tactical Operations Command |
Airfield information | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 22 m / 71 ft | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 09°44′31″N118°45′29″E / 9.74194°N 118.75806°E /9.74194; 118.75806 (Antonio Bautista Air Base, runway) | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
.svg)  PPS/RPVP Antonio Bautista Air Base location in the Philippines | |||||||||||
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| Runways | |||||||||||
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Antonio Bautista Air Base (IATA:PPS,ICAO:RPVP) is amilitary airbase of thePhilippine Air Force (PAF), located inPuerto Princesa,Palawan,Philippines. The base shares the single 2,600 metres (8,530 feet) longrunway withPuerto Princesa International Airport.[2][3] The PAF base was named as an honour to Colonel Antonio Bautista, who was killed in action on 11 January 1974 as aF-86 Sabre pilot while engaged in aclose air support (CAS) mission againstMuslim rebels.[3]
On 14 December 1944, occupyingJapanese soldiers herded 150 AmericanPOWs who were building the airstrip on Palawan Island (today'sPuerto Princesa International Airport and Antonio Bautista Air Base) into air raid trenches, doused them with gasoline, set them afire, then machine-gunned andbayoneted them to death. Among them was Army Capt. Fred Bruni[4] the Palawan POWs' senior officer, who was fromJanesville, Wisconsin, with the192nd Tank Battalion. Only eleven men escaped the 'Palawan Massacre', to be rescued by guerrillas. The story of their ordeal persuadedGeneral Douglas MacArthur that the rumoured order for the retreating Japanese to "kill all" prisoners was being implemented, thus his rush to liberate the Philippines.
US Army Air Forces units based here included:
The airbase is currently used as a jump off point to supply the soldiers stationed in the municipality ofKalayaan as well as soldiers in theBRP Sierra Madre.
Antonio Bautista Air Base is one of the nine airbases nominated for the priority development programmes of thePhilippine Air Force (PAF). The PAF planned to construct two additional hangars to store relief supplies and accommodate additional air assets, including long-rangepatrol aircraft and twoPZL W-3 Sokol helicopters to be stationed there in the future.[5]
On 18 March 2016, the United States and the Philippines signed a deal to allow US forces to use five bases in the country as a counter to the Chinese deployments in theSpratly Islands, including Antonio Bautista Air Base.[1]
A new Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief warehouse is expected to be built at the airbase.[5][6]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)Speaking at Cesar Basa Air Base during Tuesday's opening of a new 'Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief warehouse', Lorenzana said, in comments reported by thePhilippine Daily Inquirer, that another warehouse would be built at Antonio Bautista Air Base on Palawan once U.S. funding comes through.
