Antonio Bautista Air Base

Antonio Bautista Air Base (IATA: PPS, ICAO: RPVP) is a Military Airbase located on Puerto Princesa, Palawan. The base shares a single, 9,000 foot long runway with Puerto Princesa Airport.[1][2]

Antonio Bautista Air Base
Puerto Princesa Air Base
Located at Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines
Coordinates09°44′32″N 118°45′31″E
TypeAir Base
Site information
Owner Philippines
Controlled byPhilippine Air Force
United States Air Force (under jurisdiction of Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement)
Site history
BuiltMarch 21, 1975
Built by Philippines
In use1975 – present (Philippines)
Garrison information
Garrison
  • 570th Composite Tactical Wing
Airfield information
Summary
Elevation AMSL22 m / 71 ft
Coordinates09°44′32″N 118°45′31″E
Map
PPS/RPVP
Location of Antonio Bautista Air Base in the Philippines
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
09/27 2,600 8,530 Asphalt/Concrete

World War II

On December 14, 1944, occupying Japanese soldiers herded 150 American POWs who were building the air strip on Palawan Island (today’s Puerto Princesa International Airport and Antonio Bautista Air Base) into air raid trenches, doused them with gasoline, set them afire, then machine-gunned and bayoneted them to death. Among them was Army Capt. Fred Bruni, the Palawan POWs’ senior officer, who was from Janesville, Wisconsin with the 192nd Tank Battalion. Only eleven men escaped the “Palawan Massacre” to be rescued by guerrillas. The story of their ordeal persuaded General Douglas MacArthur that the rumored 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:

Future development

It is one of the nine air bases eyed for the priority development programs of the Philippine Air Force (PAF). The PAF planned to construct Two additional hangars at Antonio Bautista Air Base in Puerto Princesa to store relief supplies and accommodate additional air assets, including long-range patrol aircraft to be stationed there in the future. [3]

On March 18, 2016 the USA and Philippines signed a deal to allow US forces to use 5 bases in the country as a counter to the Chinese deployments in the Spratly Islands, including Antonio Bautista Air Base.[4]

A new Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief warehouse is expected to be built at the airbase.[5]

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References
  1. "Antonio Bautista Air Base". globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  2. "Philippine Air Force Air Bases". kalasagnglahi.angelfire.com.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 20 May 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. Lamothe, Dan (21 March 2016). "These are the bases the U.S. will use near the South China Sea. China isn't impressed". Washington Post. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  5. Robson, Seth (31 January 2019). "Facility for US forces opens on Philippines' main island; another slated for Palawan". Stars and Stripes. 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 the Philippine Daily Inquirer, that another warehouse would be built at Antonio Bautista Air Base on Palawan once U.S. funding comes through.

See also
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