Robredo, 2 others missing in Masbate plane crash
By Jonas Soltes, Karen Boncocan and Frances Mangosing
Inquirer Southern Luzon, INQUIRER.net
8:10 pm | Saturday, August 18th, 2012
NAGA CITY, Philippines – Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo was declared missing after the plane carrying him and two others crashed in the waters off Masbate City at about 5 p.m. Saturday.
Aside from Robredo, reported missing amid a search-and-rescue operation mounted by both the Coast Guard and Masbate local officials were the still unidentified pilots, according to Colonel Generoso Bolina of the Southern Luzon Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in a separate interview with INQUIRER.net in Manila.
A survivor was found. He was identified as Jun Abrazado, an aide to Robredo, said lawyer Dominina Rances, executive assistant of Robredo, in a phone interview.
Chief Superintendent Arne delos Santos, police director for Region 5, said that Abrazado was plucked off the waters off Masbate after the plane crashed three kilometers from the airport. Abrazado told authorities that Robredo was not able to get out of the aircraft.
Superintendent Jeffrey Mendez, deputy provincial director of Masbate, said that Abrazado insisted on going back to where the aircraft crashed but had to be taken back to a hospital due to his injuries.
The private plane, described as a six-seater, was heading for Naga City, Robredo’s hometown, from Cebu when the pilot sent a distress call to the Masbate Airport at around 5 p.m. requesting for an emergency landing.
Citing initial reports, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) head William Hotchkiss said the plane that crashed was a company plane that took off from Cebu at 3 p.m.
Robredo was in Cebu for the national summit of the Convenors of the Community Investigative Support (CIS) National Summit and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) at the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) in Mandaue City.
Undersecretary for Peace and Order Rico Puno said in radio interviews that Robredo was onboard the Piper Seneca plane and said that he was with the DILG chief at the Cebu convention. He said that Robredo had initially booked a flight with Cebu Pacific but eventually flew onboard the plane which was owned by one of the pilots.
Robredo is one of the members of the Cabinet closest to President Benigno Aquino III and helped his election campaign in 2010.
Linkback:
https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=53756.0