An Interview with Leni Robredo (Wife of Sec. Jess Robredo):"That first night, I knew he was gone"

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Moments before his plane plunged into the sea off Masbate island on Saturday, Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo was telling his wife, Leni, on his cell phone: “Ma, just a moment, I am just attending to something. I will call you back.”

Robredo’s voice was calm.

Leni, in Naga City, was on her way to the airport to fetch him. She had no idea that the plane, a four-seater Piper Seneca, was about to crash.

He never called again.

When told by a Robredo aide that a plane had nosedived into the water, she thought: “Could it be their plane? Could it be him?”

That was how Robredo’s wife, Maria Leonor Sto. Tomas Gerona Robredo, 47, recounted in a press interview in Naga on Thursday her last conversation with her husband. Before then, Robredo had talked about his wish to see his family one more time.

Here’s that interview translated to English:

Question: What’s the decision of the family about the offer to bury Jesse Robredo at the Libingan ng mga Bayani?

Leni: We feel very honored with the offer but we are very sure that Jesse would prefer to be buried here. Naga has always been his home. He always tells me this is a happy place. That’s why I think we will be doing him a great disservice if he is not buried here.

So painful

Q: How does his family feel now, the brothers and sisters of Robredo, his parents?

Leni: We are coping but it’s very difficult. It’s so painful to lose a husband, lose a father, lose a brother. But now we know that this is what God wants. There’s nothing we can do but accept. All through his life Jess would always say, ‘What is fated is what will happen.’ I think the most that we can do to help him find rest is to show him that we are strong and we can take this.

Q: What were you and the Secretary talking about while he was on the flight?

Leni: Actually, we had quite a long talk. On a regular basis, we would talk 10, 20 times a day, but on that particular Saturday, our text exchanges and our conversation must have doubled. He was flying to Cebu while we had an occasion here. I would update him.

He would call and was so happy. He wanted to talk to our daughter, to congratulate her. All throughout the day that was the tenor of our talk.  He wanted to be home. He had expected that the affair involving our daughter would be over by 5 p.m.  But at 2 p.m. I texted him that it had ended. So he knew he would not make it.

Bent on going home

I thought he was not coming home anymore but a staff member of his told me he was bent on going home. It was not unusual for him and he was always very happy to surprise us. So I texted him at about 3:15 and said, “Pa, are you coming home?” He said, “Yes, we have boarded the plane.”

I am the one who drives the car and fetches him at the aiport. He said, “Take your time because our ETA is still at 4:15.”

I left the house about 3:40. I drove to the Naga airport in Pili. Just before I reached the airport, he texted me, “Our plane is going back to Cebu.” I asked him, “Why?” He did not answer me. Then he replied again, “The plane is going to Cebu.”

I was waiting for his instructions, if I would wait for him at the airport or if I would go home. But I could not contact him. So I decided to go home. I texted him, “I kept calling you but you do not answer.” And he answered, “The signals are bad.”

Calm voice
When I reached home I checked the log of my cell phone. It was 4:40. That’s why I thought it was impossible that the accident happened at 4:30 unless the time on my phone was advanced … Finally I was able to contact him on his Smart number. He told me, “Ma, just a moment, I am just attending to something. I will call you back.” He spoke in a very calm voice. It was as if I was calling him while he was in the middle of a meeting.

So I told him, “OK.” I didn’t call him again. I thought that they had landed safely in Cebu and the reason he was busy was because he was trying to find tickets in a commercial flight.

But about 15 minutes later, around 5, his security in Manila, Paul, called me up. He said, “Ma’am, were you able to talk with Sir?” I was a bit confused because I told him, “Yes, five minutes ago.” I asked why. He said that “a few minutes ago he called me up asking for help to clear the Masbate Airport because they were going to make an emergency landing.”

In fact, I think the airport was already cleared for landing, several officials were there but they reported sightings of a plane that had supposedly crashed into the sea.

It hadn’t sunk in yet so I said, “Could it be Jess and his companions?”  Paul said, “Maybe not, Ma’am. Hopefully Ma’am, it’s not them.”

But when I put my phone down, that’s it, I began to think it might be him.

‘My legs like jelly’

I told my youngest daughter first because she was the one with me. I told her, let us pray because something might have happened to Papa’s plane. She was already crying. I decided to call up Aika. She was in Araneta Coliseum watching the UAAP, Ateneo vs FEU. I told her what happened, she left the game, picked up her sister and they went to church.

I also informed my brother-in-law and my sisters-in-law. My youngest daughter Jillian was already crying and she was asking me if we can go to church. I told her, in my condition I don’t think I can drive because I felt like my legs were turning into jelly.

In a few minutes Mayor Bongat and the city council arrived until there were already many people in the house. Everyone was hoping that he would be okay. But after the first night, I knew that he was gone.

Q: Have you talked with the aide (Senior Inspector June Paolo Abrazado) of Secretary Robredo?

Leni: I wasn’t able to talk with him but I texted his father. I said, “Sir, this is Leni Robredo. Please tell June we are very thankful to him, we are thankful that he survived, we knew he took care of my husband … June served my husband very well. He is a good man, he was kind to all of us. That’s why whatever I feel now toward him is the gratitude that everybody feels.”

No longer important

Q: Many people say that he deserves a posthumous confirmation. Do you think this is necessary? What do you think is the best way to remember your husband?

Leni: When the confirmation was scheduled, I think it was last Wednesday or the Wednesday before that, I texted him. We are devotees of the Virgin of Peñafrancia and I was telling him, “Pa, I started the novena today for your confirmation hearing.” I said, “It’s just right because the confirmation hearing would be on the ninth day, a Wednesday.” He said, “Ay, don’t pray for that anymore.” He said, “It’s okay if I am no longer confirmed. Just pray for the midterms of your daughter.”

I’m just speculating but maybe that is no longer that important for him. I think what is more important to him is that he was able to do his job well. For me, it is as if it’s just a formality … I would like to think that not being confirmed was no longer a big thing with him.”

Q: Your husband has been a bastion of good governance and he has been awarded several times. What would the family want to continue the legacy of Secretary Robredo?

Leni: As of now, maybe because we are numb with grief, I can’t think of concrete steps. I would want to continue, not his legacy because I could not do what he had done, but maybe keep his memory alive. Whatever it is, maybe whoever will take his place would continue what he has begun. And hopefully the seeds he had planted in local government units would grow. Because if that does not happen, it’s as if the labors that my husband had done have gone to nothing.

He wants cremation

Q: Have you decided to cremate or bury him in Naga?

Leni: When Jess was alive, that was what he kept saying, that when dies, he wants to be cremated. So most probably, we would be following his wishes. He will be cremated but the people of Naga will be able to visit him. So we are preparing for that.

Q: What do you miss most about Secretary Jess?

Leni: I can’t say because of what we are feeling now. But while we are sad now it’s as if we are still kidding him at home … I am sure that what people have now shown him was beyond his imagination. He was always assured of the love of the people of Naga but it turns out it is not just the people of Naga who love him … He was very hardworking, very passionate about his work.

‘Are my efforts appreciated?’

When he comes home, sometimes he would say, “Will anything that I have been doing amount to anything?” It’s as if he is wondering if his efforts are appreciated because it’s different with the national and the local. Locally, the results are instant and he was used to that. But nationally, the results are not instant and he gets impatient. He would keep on asking: “Are my efforts appreciated?”

I keep talking to him until now, telling him, “See, the people have answered.” I am sure the point will come that we will miss him but right now we are steeling ourselves and we’d rather think that he is very, very happy now.”

Q: What do you think is the greatest thing Secretary Robredo did for the city and the entire country?

Leni: I cannot answer that. What I can say is what he did for our family. Jess was a regular husband, a regular father. He was not a Secretary, not a mayor if he was home. What I mean is he wanted to feel important to us.

He would come home only on weekends and the things that needed fixing were waiting for him—the busted light, the plumbing, the out-of-order telephone, these were waiting for him.

Cup is overflowing

He said one of the reasons why he wanted to come home every weekend was he felt grounded here … Power has its way of getting into you but it’s as if he is saying that every time he comes home, he wants to feel like a regular dad, a regular husband. That whatever it was that needed to be done had to wait for him.

What I want to say is while it might have been unnecessary that we should bother him about trivial things, it made him feel important. He was always doing something for the family. When I say “thank you” to him, he would say, “Least I can do, Ma.”

He would tell me, “It’s difficult to get used to certain things.” He was referring to perks in the office. He would tell me, “It’s difficult to get used to those things because you might get used to them.”

I think that’s why he always came home every weekend. Because that’s the way he was. So when people asked him, “Why do you keep coming back home?” he would tell them, “If I don’t come home, I would lose my head in Manila.”

Q: Do you have any regrets that he went to DILG?

Leni: None. I know he lived a full life. He fulfilled all his dreams. Just last Sunday, the one before this Sunday, we were having a talk. He said, “Quotang-quota na ako!” He said he no longer had any dreams for himself—just for his children. It was as if he was saying that his cup is already overflowing.

It’s as if he was saying, “I never dreamed that these things would happen to me. Sobra-sobra na ito (This is too much already).” And I think he was prepared to face the Lord.

I may have told you that he often went to Confession, maybe two or three times in a month. That’s why he is very ready. For me, I didn’t even question why he was taken so early. That’s how I explain to my children. While what happened was tragic to us because we were not prepared, his kind of death was perhaps a reward for the good things he had done.

Q: The feast of the Peñafrancia is coming. Will Secretary Jess be part of the traslacion and the fluvial parade?

Leni: I think he will be there in spirit.


Inquirer Research

(Editors Note: Leni Robredo was a graduate of the Universidad de Sta. Isabel in Naga City from elementary [1978] to high school [1982].

She graduated at the University of the Philippines Diliman in 1986 with a degree in Economics and took up law at the University of Nueva Caceres in Naga City, passing the bar in 1990.

She is the eldest of the three children of retired Naga City Regional Trial Court Judge Antonio Gerona and Salvacion Sto. Tomas. She is at present connected with the Naga chapter of Saligan, a national alternative lawyers’ group helping farmers.)

Robredo Plane wreckage pulled out from the sea

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The wreckage of the Piper Seneca plane that crashed off the coast of Masbate and killed Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo and his 2 pilots is hoisted from the sea on Wednesday. The plane was recovered 800 meters from the shore at about 180 feet under the sea.

Robredo plane avoided crashing into populous village— Abrazado (survivor)

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 MASBATE CITY—It was a toss-up between hitting a population center and the sea with the crippled aircraft approaching the Masbate Airport.

Capt. Jessup Bahinting decided to head for the water instead, sparing casualties on the ground but losing instead Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, his copilot and his own life as well, in the tragic crash of the twin-engine Piper Seneca at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Senior Insp. June Paolo Abrazado, the only survivor, recounted the harrowing moments before the aircraft fell off Masbate City in a three-page statement in Filipino, a copy of which was obtained by the Philippine Daily Inquirer Tuesday.

Robredo’s body was retrieved from the sea on Tuesday morning. Bahinting and his Nepalese student copilot Kshitiz Chand’s bodies have yet to be retrieved from the hull of the plane.

Abrazado, Robredo’s police aide who clambered out of the aircraft before it sank and was rescued later by fishermen, said that the pilot was looking for the runway to make an emergency landing while the plane, which already lost its right engine, was flying very low over the city.

“There’s the runway! There’s the runway!” Abrazado quoted Bahinting exclaiming as they approached the airport.

But the aircraft missed the runway, glided to the left and headed toward the residential area of Barangay (village) Ibingay, he said. It seemed to him that Bahinting avoided crashing into Ibingay, one of the most populous villages of the city.

Like bomb explosion

As the plane banked to the right, sparing the village, it wobbled, “nosed up and nosed down,” and finally plunged into the sea, he said.

“The sound of the crash was indescribable. I can’t explain it. But it was like the explosion of a bomb,” he said. “My initial reaction was to hug Secretary Robredo,” he said.

Abrazado said he lost consciousness after that.

“When I regained consciousness, seawater was already rushing into the plane and the right side of the plane appeared to have disintegrated,” he said.

“But the door of the plane remained locked by a latch. There was a piece of wood that apparently pierced the glass pane of the plane. And the water kept rushing in,” he said.

Nowhere in sight

Abrazado said he looked around but could not see Robredo.

“We were seated beside each other. I did not know if it was me or he who got displaced. I just reached for my seatbelt because seawater was flooding the inside of the plane. I saw light coming in and I tried to surface. I did not know which part of the plane the light was coming from. I was rattled. I was losing my mind. I tried many times to unfasten my seatbelt but it seemed I could not even move my hands. When I unbuckled it, I squeezed myself out from the plane. I had drank seawater mixed with gasoline and I became dizzy.

As he floated away, he saw the plane bobbing up, with its tail the only visible part above the water. The tail, he said, was perpendicular to the surface.

“Then I could not move my hands again. I was still wearing my shoes and pants. I said to myself that I would die because I could not even move my arms. I assumed that my arms were broken,” he said.

Then he saw his bag floating. “I summoned all the physical strength I could to reach for the bag. My face was aching. My body was failing me. I grabbed the bag and it kept me afloat long enough  until a fisherman  came to rescue me.”

Abrazado said for about 15 minutes he was shouting and calling for help while the bag he was holding on for dear life was also slowly sinking.

“When I was rescued by a fisherman, I looked back at the plane. I saw no one from the plane was following me. I could only see what looked like debris,” he said.

He said he told the fisherman to rush him to the  Masbate police office. But the fisherman told him that a rescue team was waiting.

Abrazado’s nose was bleeding by then.

Danger signs

Before the crash, Abrazado had sensed there were problems with the plane.

“While we were still up in the air, the display panel that also displayed a directional map kept on flashing: ‘aviation expires 18 or November 28 2010.’ I can see from the panel a distance notification that said 20 to 26 miles. I don’t know what the expiration message meant. I wanted to inform the secretary about it but I did not want him to worry. I just made the secretary laugh by saying that there were many cases when a plane was flying with only one engine functioning,” he said.

“We were relieved when we saw the runway. Then when we were about to relax,  we began to be aware of the problem,” he said.

The aide said the plane began to swoop nose down when the pilot glided it to the right. “It was then that the pilot lost control of the plane.

“I wondered why the pilot chose to land in Masbate when he said we were returning to Cebu. In fact, I was able to reserve a plane ticket from Cebu to Manila.”

‘Check engine’ warning

Abrazado said when the group took off from Cebu, Robredo was rushing to go home because the Naga Airport would not allow a plane to land if they left Cebu at 2 p.m. They would be diverted to Legazpi City.

“Secretary Robredo was able to talk to the one in charge of the Naga Airport tower, and he got  a go signal,” he said.  “But we still took off at 3 p.m.”

Abrazado said he noticed that the plane looked old but he said the pilot told them that it was in good condition.

“I noticed that the copilot looked like a trainee and that he was a foreigner,” he said.

“After we took off from Cebu and while we were in the air, the display panel suddenly blinked and displayed: ‘Check engine,’” he said.

“The pilot told us that there was a problem and they could not proceed to Naga. Then Secretary Robredo told the pilot to just return to Cebu.”

“I felt the plane turn and I started coordinating with our staff in Cebu and asked them to book a Cebu-Manila ticket,” he said. “Secretary Robredo was relieved that we were returning to Cebu but we noticed that the flight was taking longer than expected.”

Then, Abrazado said, the right engine suddenly shut down and he and Robredo got worried.

Still, the plane was running well, he said, although the pilots were trying to restart the engine that malfunctioned. The copilot even had a very relaxed demeanor when he turned to them at the back, he said.

“We asked the pilot if we were nearing Cebu and we were informed that we would be making an emergency landing in Masbate Airport instead,” Abrazado said.

He said he tried to coordinate with the Legazpi Airport staff to provide a chopper as Robredo had an urgent engagement in Naga.

“While I was doing that, the plane was flying very close to the surface of the sea and I thought the plane was just making a final approach to the runway. I said to myself, we can survive this. I said even when the plane makes a water landing, I can manage to bail out and save my boss,” he said.

Abrazado failed to do that. He was knocked out when the plane crashed into the water and Robredo disappeared from his sight when he regained his senses.

Divers from Cebu found Robredo's plane

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 CEBU CITY—The three technical divers from Malapascua Island, a popular diving spot in northern Cebu, succeeded in locating the ill-fated Piper Seneca plane used by Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, because of their training and experience, according to their associate.

Matt Reed, 35, a British partner in a dive resort called Evolution in Malapascua, was diving with Anna Cu Unjieng, 37, a Filipino, and Shelagh Cooley, 29, an American, when he found the plane’s fuselage and Robredo’s body Tuesday morning at a depth of 50 meters in Masbate Pass.

In a text message sent to the Philippine Daily Inquirer Tuesday night, Reed declined to be interviewed. “Once the recovery effort is completed, then I will be happy to discuss it. Thanks for your understanding,” he said.

His Irish partner, David Joyce, 39, said in a phone interview Tuesday afternoon, that he would have wanted to join the Evolution team. “I discussed it with my wife, Emma, who is to deliver our baby anytime and I decided not to join them.”

Chief Supt. Vicente Loot, a Cebuano police official assigned to Eastern Visayas, said he contacted the three technical divers on Monday and asked for help in the search-and-rescue mission. He said he had been directed by police headquarters in Central Visayas to locate the divers.

Technical diving

According to the Evolution website, technical diving goes beyond the limits of recreational diving—a maximum depth of 130 feet or 40 meters, no decompression and always having direct access to the surface. This requires proper training and specialized equipment to be able to dive deeper, Joyce explained.

The divers must bring four tanks containing different gases, rebreather units and regulators (some for decompression use), he said. A rebreather allows the gas a diver exhales to be processed so it can be inhaled again.

Joyce said that returning to the surface should be precise and slow, taking 90 minutes to two hours or three meters per minute.

Loot said he assisted Reed, Unjieng and Cooley in carrying their diving equipment and facilitated their flight to Masbate at noon of Monday on an Air Force plane.

German volunteer

A volunteer German technical diver, however, fell ill during the deep-sea search operations. He was identified as Danny Brumbach, a consultant in a coral reef restoration project of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development.

An engineer by profession, Brumbach designs underwater turbines that help depleted corals multiply, according to Raymund Liboro, information director of the Department of Science and Technology.

Liboro said Brumbach and his fellow divers from the Boracay Scuba Schools Association volunteered for the Masbate search.

Reed started recreational diving at the age of 17 and has been into technical diving since he was 21, according to Joyce. He became a certified diver in 1990 and completed his open water course in the Mediterranean on Gozo Island, his website said.

Passionate

The London native went to Southeast Asia because of his love for diving and has over 6,000 logged dives and hits the water almost every day. He also teaches wreck diving, cave diving, mixed gas and rebreather courses.

“Both Matt and I are passionate technical divers,” Joyce said. “Matt is probably the most experienced technical diver in the Philippines.”

Early this month, Evolution technical divers performed search dives at 330 feet, which was a good preparation for the Masbate mission, he said.

The Evolution website reported that its exploration unit undertook the search for a wreck thought to be the lost MV Pioneer Cebu.

The vessel, which reportedly had 262 passengers on board, was lost somewhere near Malapascua when Typhoon “Klaring” struck on May 16, 1966.

Robredo's body was found- Mar Roxas

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 MANILA, Philippines – Technical divers have recovered the body of Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, Transportation and Communication Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas said on Tuesday.

An emotional Roxas broke the “sad news” at a briefing at 9:15 a.m., saying that Robredo’s body was found 800 meters from the shore at a depth of 180 feet at 7:45 a.m .

“The body has indications that it belongs to Sec. Jess,” said Roxas as he tried to fight off tears.

The remains of the Department of Interior and Local Government chief has been pulled from the fuselage and brought by rubber boat to one of Philippine Coast Guard’s vessels. It is now on its way to Naga City, Roxas said.

Recovery was difficult as the fuselage had overturned but operations continued to retrieve the bodies of the two pilots who were found inside the Piper Seneca plane. “Nakasubsob ‘yung dalawang piloto sa loob ng cockpit kaya si Sec. Jesse ang unang nakuha ng diver (The two pilots were inside the cockpit that’s why they recovered Sec. Jesse’s body first),” said Roxas.

“Sa pamilya nina Captain [Jessup] Bahinting and the Nepalese co-pilot [flight student Kshitiz Chand], tuloy po ang recovery operations. Hindi ito para lang kay Sec. Jesse (The recovery operations for the remains of Captain Bahinting and the Nepalese co-pilot are ongoing. This is not only for Sec. Jesse),” said Roxas.

President Benigno Aquino III has been told about the development and has personally informed the DILG chief’s wife, lawyer Leni Robredo.

“The President has already called Mrs. Leni,” said Roxas.

Roxas asked the media and the public to give the Robredo family time to cope with what has happened. He also told them not to disrupt forensic experts who will be examining the bodies.

The official confirmation came after four days of massive search and rescue operations headed no less by President Aquino.

Divers can't find Robredo and 2 pilots

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President Benigno Aquino on Sunday took the lead in the search for Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, a day after a light plane carrying the local government chief and three others crashed in waters off Masbate.

Mr. Aquino flew to Masbate early Sunday morning to oversee the search for the wreckage of the four-seat Piper Seneca that crashed into the sea while attempting an emergency landing about 5 p.m. on Saturday.

More than 300 rescuers were scouring the area about 500 meters from the shore of Masbate City for Robredo, who was missing along with the plane’s two pilots.

Robredo’s bodyguard, Chief Insp. Jun Abrasado, made a dramatic escape from the doomed plane and was rescued by fishermen. Abrasado was helping in the search, officials said.

Transportation Secretary Manuel Roxas, who accompanied Mr. Aquino and was designated as official spokesperson for the search, said special sonar equipment had been flown to Masbate to help in the search operation after some debris, including one wing of the missing plane, was recovered.

“We just want to do everything we can to save him [Robredo],” Roxas said in a message on Twitter.

“We remain hopeful that Secretary Robredo was just carried by the current … and that he will be found,” Roxas said, adding that Mr. Aquino was “very emotionally attached” to Robredo and was doing everything he could to help find him.

Four people were on the private plane that was heading for Naga City in Camarines Sur province from Cebu City when it malfunctioned and crashed in waters between Masbate and Ticao Islands.

Missing, aside from Robredo, were Capt. Jessup Bahinting, the pilot and CEO of Aviatour Air that owned the aircraft, and Kshitiz Chand, the Nepalese copilot.

At about 3 p.m. Sunday, Masbate Bantay Dagat reported to City Mayor Socrates Tuason that a large object had been detected on the seafloor.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) also reported that a Navy vessel’s sonar had detected “something metallic” on the sea floor.

“The sonar showed it was something metallic. But it’s not definite yet if that was really part of the airplane,” NDRRMC Executive Director Benito Ramos said by phone.

Hoping for best

“We are hoping for the best that there are still survivors,” Ramos said.

When the Philippine Daily Inquirer sought confirmation from Roxas by phone, he replied: “Nothing yet. Some underwater, seabed disturbances of indeterminate origin indicated by sonar.”

At 4:30 p.m., however, reports came that the flight manifest of the plane with the names of Robredo, Abrasado and the pilots were found in waters 750 meters off the shore.

Roxas confirmed the recovery of the document. He said the diver who recovered it reported finding it at a depth of 45 meters “alongside tracks” on the sea floor.

Earlier, Roxas said Coast Guard, Navy and police divers were searching for the wreckage in depths of 40 meters to 80  meters in an area about 200 meters from the tip of the runway of Masbate Airport.

Coast Guard divers reported seeing what looked like skid marks on the sea floor.

Wreckage dragged

Roxas said the marks could be a sign that strong undercurrents were dragging the wreckage of the plane.

With that possibility, Roxas ordered the Coast Guard to delineate an area where the wreckage could be.

Malacañang could not say whether the President was staying in the area the whole day overseeing the air and surface operations to find Robredo and the others missing.

Tweets by InquirerSLB and ABS-CBN television said, however, the President was staying overnight in Masbate to continue supervising the search operation.

Accompanying Mr. Aquino were Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Philippine National Police Chief Nicanor Bartolome, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad and Rep. Jun Abaya, president of the ruling Liberal Party.

Contrary to reports late on Saturday, the search went on overnight, according to presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda.

More equipment were deployed Sunday morning to intensify the search for the wreckage, he said.

US help

A flyby on Saturday night by a US aircraft failed to pinpoint the location of the wreckage, Roxas said.

Lt. Cmdr. Armand Balilo, Coast Guard spokesperson, said “big fishing boats with powerful lights helped in the search, trying to locate the plane’s wreckage,” but they had “no success so far.”

Balilio confirmed that the Coast Guard had sought help from the US Coast Guard.

“We gave the grid coordinates of the crash site to our American counterpart,” Balilo said. “We hope they can dispatch today one of their Lockheed P3 Orion aircraft to help in the search for the missing plane.”

Witnesses

Mayor Tuason said witnesses saw the plane trying to land at Masbate Airport at about 4:20 p.m. Saturday. But the plane suddenly plunged into the sea about 200 meters from the shore, he said.

Robredo attended groundbreaking rites for the new PNP Regional Training Center in Cebu City on Saturday. He was supposed to return to Manila on a Cebu Pacific flight that was to depart at 5:30 p.m.

But “for reasons known only to Secretary Robredo, he decided to take a private plane instead of taking the commercial flight,” Roxas said in a statement posted on the government’s official website.

“The secretary opted to fly using one of the planes of Aviatour Air, an aviation company based in [Mactan-Cebu International Airport],” he said. Aviatour Air provides professional pilot training, charter services, aircraft sales and maintenance services.

Last hours

According to records at the Police Center for Aviation Security 7 (PCAS-7) and the public affairs division of Mactan-Cebu airport, the Piper Seneca took off at 3:06 p.m. It was headed for Naga City.

But at around 3:30 p.m., Abrasado sent a text message to Col. Ritchie Posadas, PCAS-7 chief, to say the plane was returning to Cebu because it was experiencing problems with one of its propellers.

Abrasado requested that Robredo’s flight to Manila be rebooked.

At around 4:20 p.m., the aide called again with the information that the plane was attempting an emergency landing at Masbate Airport.

When asked if he and his companions were all right, Abrasado replied in Filipino, “We’re fine.”

That was the last thing PCAS-7 heard from Abrasado.

The last communication received by the control tower at Mactan-Cebu airport reported the plane to be at 45 meters, descending, on the final approach to Masbate Airport’s runway, using instrument flight rules. The communication said the plane might undershoot the runway.

Then nothing more.

Abrasado survived the crash with minor injuries.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said Robredo’s security should not have allowed him to travel on a light plane going to a destination where he would arrive after dark. He said that was “inadvisable.”

Prayers

Prayers poured in from public officials Sunday for Robredo’s safety.

Former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was among those praying for Robredo to be found safe, according to her spokesperson, Elena Bautista-Horn.

Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara said people should hang on to the hope that Robredo would be found alive.

Robredo’s plane crash: Chronology of events

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MANILA, Philippines – He was originally booked to take a commercial flight, but “for reasons known only to Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo,” he decided to take a private plane that crashed off Masbate waters Saturday afternoon.

Hours before the plane crash, Robredo was at Consolacion, Cebu to attend the ground breaking ceremony of the new PNP Regional Training Center.

At around 2:30 p.m., he left the site and proceeded to Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) to book his flight  to n Naga City .

Based on the information acquired from Police Center for Aviation Security 7 (PCAS-7)/DILG and MCIA Public Affairs Division, Robredo was booked on Cebu Pacific 5J572, Cebu-Manila  ETD 3:50 p.m.

“For reasons known only to Secretary Robredo, he decided to take a private plane instead of taking the commercial flight,” said a statement from the office of Transportation   Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas posted in government’s official website.

“The Secretary opted to fly using one of the planes of Aviatour Air, an aviation company based in MCIA,” it said.

Aviatour Air provides professional pilot training, charter, aircraft sales, and maintenance services.

Robredo then proceeded directly to MCIA’s General Aviations area without passing through the MCIA main terminal building, the statement said.

At 3:06 p.m., the Aviatour aircraft, a twin engine Piper Seneca, with Registry No. RPC 4431, took off at MCIA with four persons on board: Capt. Jessup Bahinting, the pilot who is also the owner, chairman, and CEO of Aviatour Air, co-pilot Kshitiz Chand, a Nepalese national, Secretary Robredo, and his aide Police Chief Inspector June Paolo Abrazado.

But at around 3:30 p.m., Abrazado sent a text message to Col. Ritchie Posadas, PCAS-7 chief to tell him that they were returning back to Cebu because the six-seater plane was experiencing problem with one of the propellers.

Abrazo requested to rebook for the earliest flight possible out of Mactan and so they were booked for the 5:05 p.m Cebu-Manila flight of Cebu Pacific 5J570.

At around 4:20 p.m., however, Abrazado informed PCAS-7 and DILG personnel that they were making an emergency landing at Masbate Airport.

When asked if they were okay, Abrazado replied, “Okey naman.”

That was the last communication received by PCAS-7 from Robredo’s aide, the statement said.

The last communication received by the MCIA control tower from the plane, on the other hand,  was that they were 150 feet, descending, on the final approach using instrument flight rules (IFR) to Masbate Airport and that they might undershoot the runway.

As of 10 a.m. Roxas said Robredo is still missing and search and rescue operations are still ongoing.

Abrazado survived the incident while the pilot and co-pilot of the plane remained missing.

Mar Roxas: We’re doing everything to save Robredo

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MANILA, Philippines –  Helicopters and divers were searching Sunday for one of the most powerful Philippine ministers, who was missing and feared dead after a light aircraft he was travelling in crashed into the sea.

President Benigno Aquino took the lead in the search for Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, a day after his plane went down near the central island of Masbate.

Aquino flew to Masbate where military divers and helicopters were scouring the area for the minister, who is missing along with two pilots.

Transportation Secretary Manuel “Mar”  Roxas, who accompanied Aquino, said special sonar equipment had also been flown to Masbate to help in the search operation after some debris, including one wing of the missing plane, was recovered.

“We just want to do everything we can to save him (Robredo),” Roxas said in a message on Twitter.

Four people were on the private plane. Robredo’s aide, June Paolo Abrazado survived with only a few injuries while the Secretary and  two pilots identified as Capt. Jessup Bahinting and Nepalese Kshitiz Chand remained missing.

The Aquino administration has intensified its efforts to find Robredo and the pilots by sending at least 25 sea vessels from the Philippine Coast Guard, the Navy, Air Force, Philippine National Police, and from the local governments.

The Philippine Navy has deployed its naval ships BRP Simeon Castro and BRP Hilario Ruiz and a diving team from the Naval Special Operations Group (Nagsog) to help in surface and underwater search and rescue operations.

The divers of Navsog have Trimix capabilities, which allow deep diving operations.

A navy islander plane and another diving team were also dispatched from Sangley Point in Cavite to assist in search operations, said Navy spokesman Colonel Omar Tonsay.

Philippine Air Force spokesman Colonel Miguel Ernesto Okol told INQUIRER.net that five helicopters, including its most modern assets, three Sokol and 2UH1H, were also enroute to Masbate.

From an area of about two kilometers from the shore, the search now covers a four kilometer-by-three kilometer site, in a depth of from 40 meters to 67 meters, according to notice posted in a bulletin board of La Villa Resort, which is now being used as a command center in the search and rescue efforts being overseen by no less than President Aquino.

Roxas, who was designated spokesman for the Robredo search, said two US aircrafts did a fly-by in the area last night but found no trace of the aircraft or of its missing passengers – Robredo and pilots Capt. Jessup Bahinting and Nepalese Kshitiz Chand.

He said they hoped to get better results with sonar equipment expected to arrive this morning from Cebu.

The government also called a prayer vigil at a Roman Catholic chapel in Manila for the 54-year-old cabinet member, a father of three daughters and a former city mayor.

He is considered to be one of the most influential Philippine politicians and a close presidential aide.

As interior secretary, Robredo was in control of the country’s 143,000-strong national police force which has long been dogged by accusations of corruption and abuse.

In recent months, he had ordered investigations into alleged financial irregularities over the construction of police stations and purchase of helicopters and rescue boats.

Robredo was also playing a key role in the dismantling of private armies allegedly deployed by some powerful provincial governors and city mayors ahead of congressional and local elections in 2013.

A former official at an ice cream company, Robredo was elected mayor of Naga City in the strife-torn Bicol region, south of Manila in 1988 at the age of 29, making him the youngest mayor in the country at the time.

His success in turning the once-sleepy city into a trading, housing and education centre won him many honours including a 2000 Ramon Magsaysay award, considered Asia’s version of the Nobel Prize.

After serving nine years as a city mayor, he joined Aquino’s successful campaign for the presidency in 2010, endorsing his reformist platform. Robredo was subsequently appointed to the cabinet.

The Pilot in DILG Sec. Jesse Robredo crash aimed for the sea

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MANILA, Philippines – The pilot of the ill-fated Piper aircraft boarded by Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo reportedly aimed for the sea, according to a witness’ account.
Jojo Sancho, a resident of Masbate City, told DZMM on Saturday that he saw the Piper Ceneca PA 34-200 carrying Robredo flying low before it plunged to the sea.
Sancho said the plane’s pilot may have decided to land on water where they have a greater chance of survival.
“Lumipad sa tapat ng dagat, parang inilagpas ng airport. Talagang itinantya niya na kung babagsak siya sa airport, talagang sasabog [sila],” said Sancho.
Robredo was onboard the plane together with his aide, Capt. Jun Abrazado, pilot Capt. Jessup Bahinting, and Nepalese co-pilot Kshitiz Chand, when it crashed at 4:30 p.m.
Abrazado has been rescued from the crash site.
Search and rescue operations for Robredo and the two pilots are ongoing.
Masbate Vice Governor Vince Revil earlier said Bahinting made a call to the Masbate City Airport where they planned to make an emergency landing.
“Nag-emergency call that they are going to have an emergency landing sa Masbate City Airport pero nag-crash ang plane about 150 meters away from the airport , nag-crash sa dagat,” Revil told “TV Patrol: Weekend.”
Robredo’s plane came from Mactan, Cebu and was headed to Naga City.
Sancho said the plane’s engine died down even before the crash.
“Wala namang usok, talagang eroplano lang na k’wan pero walang naririnig na andar ng makina,” he said.
He also narrated that he ran toward the beach after hearing the loud splash created by the crash.
What he saw at that point was the plane rapidly sinking into the sea.
“Nakita ko na lang 'yung dulo ng pakpak, pero pawala na… tapos may nakita akong mga bangkang maliliit na palapit po doon.”

Pres. Aquino at crash site of DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo in Masbate

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MANILA, Philippines –   President  Benigno  Aquino  III  arrived  in  Masbate as the  search  and rescue operations (SaR)  for   Interior   Secretary Jesse Robredo   and two  others  resumed  early Sunday.

Transportation Secretary Manuel Mar Roxas  posted  on his Twitter account that he and Aquino, along with  other  government  officials, on  board PAF C-130   were at the  crash site “to lead the  SaR  efforts.”

“At the location, crash site within sight of beach, 500m & also within sight of end of runway,” Roxas said.

“Water’s calm, sky (is) clear, which will help in (the) ongoing  SaR,” he added.

Robredo, and three others were onboard a six-seater Piper Seneca plane when it crashed  in the waters off the shoreline of Masbate City at about 5 p.m. Saturday.

Robredo’s aide, P/Senior Insp. Jun Abrazado, survived but the Interior Secretary and the pilot and  co-pilot of the plane –Capt. Jessup Bahinting and Nepalese copilot Kshitiz Chand, remained  missing.

DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo and 2 others missing after plane crash

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Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo called his wife Maria Leonor “Leni” Gerona Robredo at about 4:30 p.m. Saturday to say that the plane flying him from Cebu to Camarines Sur was having engine problems.

Leni, a lawyer, made this confirmation, adding that the call was immediately cut off and there was no contact with Robredo after that.

Malacañang has confirmed that the six-seater Piper Seneca plane that Robredo was on board with three others had gone missing after it crashed in the waters off the shoreline of Masbate City at about 5 p.m. Saturday.

The private aircraft was heading for Naga City, Robredo’s hometown, from Cebu when one of the pilots sent a distress call to the Masbate Airport, requesting permission for an emergency landing. That was the last contact with Robredo’s plane.

The plane crashed some 3 kilometers from the airport on Masbate Bay, Robredo’s head executive assistant Dominina Rances said in a phone interview.

Also reported missing were the pilot, identified as Capt. Jessup Bahinting, owner of Aviatour Flight School, and Nepalese copilot Kshitiz Chand.

Philippine National Police Chief Nicanor Bartolome said P/Senior Insp. Jun Abrazado, Robredo’s aide, survived after he unbuckled his seat belt and was thrown off the plane during the crash. He was later rescued by fishermen.

“But after he was given initial medical treatment, he returned to the site to join the search,” Bartolome added.

Abrazado suffered a fracture in the arm and was brought for emergency treatment at a hospital in Masbate City, according to Lt. Col. Julian Pacatan, commander of the Army 9th Infantry Battalion in Masbate now involved in the search-and-rescue operation.

Bartolome has directed the police in the area to join the search, even as he has deployed divers and volunteers to help the Coast Guard and Masbate local officials, led by Gov. Rizalina Lanete, who have mounted a search-and-rescue operation. But as of 7:30 Saturday night, inadequate equipment necessary for nighttime search underwater prompted frogmen to temporarily withdraw from the crash site, according to Ernie Delgado of the Philippine Information Agency in Masbate.

Robredo arrived in Cebu about 11 a.m. and attended the ground breaking of the Philippine Police Safety College in Consolacion town, northern Cebu.

Consolacion Mayor Nene Alegado said that during her lunch with Robredo, the Secretary commented about the humid weather in Cebu.

“Mainit dito sa Cebu. Sa Manila palagi umuulan. (It is very hot here in Cebu unlike in Manila where it is always raining),” Alegado quoted Robredo as saying.

From Consolacion, Robredo proceeded to the Cebu International Convention Center in Mandaue City to deliver his keynote speech before the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-Community Investigative Support national summit.

Robredo was supposed to leave Cebu on a Cebu Pacific flight but made last minute changes because he was rushing to go home to Naga.

Senior Supt. Erson Digal, who was part of the security escort of the secretary during his visit in Cebu, said Robredo was supposed to take a 2:40 p.m. flight back to Manila but changed his mind and decided to go home to Naga City instead.

Robredo took a chartered flight to Naga from Aviatour Flight School based in Lapu-Lapu City, Mactan Island. Capt. Bahinting agreed to pilot the Piper Seneca to Naga along with flight student Chand.

Local Government Undersecretary Rico Puno said Robredo’s plane left Cebu at around 2:30 p.m.

Based on information gathered from Abrazado, the aide did not see Robredo get out of the plane when it crashed, according to Lt. Col. Julian Pacatan.

Digal said in an interview over dySS that he received a text message from Abrazado that their plane was having problems with the propeller while making a turn.

A few minutes later, Robredo’s aide sent another text message to Digal, saying they were about to make an emergency landing.

Amparo Perez, president of the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) in Masbate, said in a phone interview that rescue operations have stopped between 7:30 and 8 p.m. “It is already dark but rescue will resume at 5:30 a.m. tomorrow, Sunday,” she said.

She said as of 6:30 p.m., rescuers were still scouring the sea and found the currents along Ticao Pass very strong even as the crash site was just two kilometers away from the shoreline.

At the Robredo residence at Bulusan Street, Dayangdan, Naga City, over a hundred people, including family, friends and political allies, have gathered and kept vigil.

The prayer for his safe return started at 8 p.m. at the living room while his wife Leni stayed inside her bedroom with some close relatives.

At around 7:30 p.m., the crowd cheered when they heard a radio report saying Robredo was found alive by fishermen.

The elation turned to gloom when they learned that the news was not true.

Robredo, 54, has been the Local Government Secretary since his appointment in July 2010. He served as mayor of Naga City in Camarines Sur for nearly two decades.

He won his first mayoral bid in 1988 at the age of 29, making him one of the youngest Philippine city mayors. He served as mayor of Naga City for six three-year terms—from 1988 to 1998 and from 2001 to 2010.

He became the president of the League of Cities of the Philippines, the national association of city mayors, in 1995. He was also elected chairman of the Regional Development Council, the regional planning and coordinative body of Bicol, from 1992 to 1998.

In recognition of his work, Robredo was cited in 1999 by Asiaweek magazine “for transforming Naga City from a lethargic Philippine city into one of Asia’s most improved.”

He also received individual awards for local governance including the 1996 Outstanding Young Persons of the World (TOYP) Award, the Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines (TOYM), 1998 Konrad Adenauer Medal of Excellence as Most Outstanding City Mayor of the Philippines and the first ever “Dangal ng Bayan ” Award of the Civil Service Commission.

In 2000, he received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service for “giving credence to the promise of democracy by demonstrating that effective city management is compatible with yielding power to the people.”

An Edward Mason Fellow and a graduate of Masters in Public Administration at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, he completed his Masters in Business Administration at the University of the Philippines.

He obtained his undergraduate degrees in Industrial Management Engineering and Mechanical Engineering from the De La Salle University.

After his graduation from De La Salle University in 1980, Robredo joined San Miguel Corporation’s Magnolia division. He returned to Naga City in 1986 where he was named  director of the Bicol River Basin Development Program, an agency tasked to undertake integrated area development planning in the region’s three provinces.

He finished high school at the Ateneo de Naga.

Aquino’s emergency landing

Born in Naga City on May 27, 1958, he is the third of five children of Jose Chan Robredo Sr. and Marcelina Manalastas. He and wife Leni, who is also from Naga, have three daughters.

On August 10, heavy rains and poor visibility also forced the President’s convoy of helicopters to make an emergency landing at the Luisita exit of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway.

At the time, Mr. Aquino was on his way to an evacuation center in Paniqui.

Brig. Gen. Ramon Dizon, commander of the Presidential Security Group, said they decided to land before it started to rain “to be on the safe side.”

With the President on the helicopter were Joel Villanueva of the Technical Education Skills and Development Authority and Aurora Representative Juan Edgardo Angara.