Ochoa extends
condolences to Interior and Local Government Secretary Robredo’s family
Executive Secretary
Paquito N. Ochoa Jr. joined his colleagues in the Aquino Cabinet as well as the
whole nation in mourning for the passing of Interior and Local Government
Secretary Jesse Robredo who died in the plane crash on Saturday. Pilots Capt.
Jessup Bahinting and Kshitiz Chand also died in the accident.
“Secretary Robredo was a
dedicated public servant and a champion of good governance whose track record
in public service has been an inspiration to all those who believe in
government as an instrument for positive change,” Ochoa said in a statement.
“Our prayers go out to
the families of Secretary Robredo and his companions, as well as to his
constituents in Naga and the officials and employees of the Department of the
Interior and Local Government, who lost a leader who tirelessly worked and
contributed greatly to President Aquino's campaign for good governance as a
means to improve the lives of our countrymen.”
Divers have recovered
the body of Robredo Tuesday morning, Transportation and Communication Secretary
Manuel Roxas said. Robredo’s body was found 800 meters from the shore at a
depth of 180 feet at 7:45 a.m. Tuesday, Roxas said.
Recovery efforts were
difficult as the fuselage had overturned, Roxas said, adding however that the
retrieval operations for the bodies of the two pilots will continue.
President Benigno S.
Aquino III flew to Masbate Tuesday morning upon receiving information that
Robredo’s body was recovered. From Masbate, the President will then proceed to
Camarines Sur to turn over the remains of Robredo to his family waiting at Pili
Airport.
The remains will then be
brought to Naga City where Robredo served as mayor for many years. (as/12:05pm)
President Aquino
personally called up DILG Secretary Robredo's wife to break the sad news
Following massive search
and rescue operations, Transportation and Communication Secretary Manuel Roxas
II reported on Tuesday that the body of Interior and Local Government Secretary
Jesse Robredo has been found.
Speaking to reporters at
the Command Center set up in Masbate City, where the plane carrying Robredo and
three others crashed off its coastal waters on Saturday, Roxas said that the
Interior and Local Government Secretary and his pilots Captain Jessup Bahinting
and Nepalese Kshitiz Chand bodies’ were found by technical divers still within
the fuselage of the Piper Seneca plane they took from Cebu City to Naga City.
Roxas said the remains
of Robredo was found 800 meters from the shore at a depth of 180 feet and was
successfully brought to the surface and eventually loaded on one of the
Philippine Coast Guard’s vessels at past 8 a.m.
Roxas added that
President Benigno S. Aquino III had been informed of this development and that
he had personally called up Robredo’s wife, Maria Leonor, in Naga City to break
the sad news to her.
Shortly after, the
President flew to Masbate City on board a Philippine Air Force C-130 cargo
plane to accompany the remains of Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse
Robredo when it is brought to Naga City.
At the Pili Airport in
Camarines Sur, Sec. Robredo's wife Lenny, and the rest of the family awaited
the arrival of the C-130 plane with the President. (rck)
Secretary Coloma mourns
passing of DILG Secretary Robredo
Presidential
Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma, Jr. is one
with his colleagues in mourning for the passing of Interior and Local
Government Secretary Jesse Robredo whose body was recovered Tuesday morning.
In a message relayed to
Malacañang reporters, Coloma conveyed that Robredo would be a great loss to the
Philippine government given his excellent traits as a public servant that
inspired many of them who were able to work with him in the Aquino
administration.
“Secretary Jesse Robredo
served our people selflessly and honorably. He was an exemplary public servant,
a pathfinder in implementing innovations in governance. He inspired all those
with whom he worked by dint of his enthusiasm and devotion to duty. Our
thoughts and prayers go with his family,” Coloma said.
In a separate interview
with the state-run PTV-4, Coloma added that he was deeply amazed by Robredo’s
style of leadership at the Department of Interior and Local Government which,
he said, has been at the forefront of transparency, openness, and
accountability.
“Sa lahat po ng kanyang
nakadaupang-palad, siya ay nagsilbing inspirasyon sa pamamagitan ng kanyang
masigla at masipag na paglilingkod kaya ‘yan po ang kanyang handog sa ating
bayan. At sana po, sa ating pag-alala sa kanya ay ipagpatuloy natin ‘yung
kabutihang ipinakita niya para sa bayan at para sa Sambayanang Pilipino,”
Coloma said.
All hope that the Local
and Government chief would survive the fatal crash but were soon dashed out as
it was reported that Robredo’s body was found lifeless inside the wreckage of
the Piper Seneca plane by a British volunteer technical diver at a depth of
roughly 180 feet below the sea.
The remains of pilots
Captain Jessup Bahinting and Nepalese Kshitiz Chand were likewise found in the
same area.
Prayers and messages of
condolences through various social networking sites continue to pour for the
soul of Robredo and his companions as the national flag in Malacañang and other
government offices were hoisted in half-mast. (hdc)
Aquino government urges
Filipinos to share thoughts messages of sympathy for Robredo’s family through
unified hashtag and tribute page
The Aquino
administration encouraged Filipino citizens to share their thoughts, memories,
and messages of sympathy for the family of Interior and Local Government
Secretary Jesse Robredo through the unified hashtag and the Jesse Robredo
tribute page.
"We invite everyone
to pay tribute to the exemplary life and work of Secretary Jesse through
testimonials and remembrances. In consultation with the media, we encourage our
fellow citizens to use the unified hashtag #salamatjesse for their Twitter
messages," Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in statement
issued on Tuesday.
Lacierda also invited
the public to visit www.gov.ph/salamatjesse, which has been established by the
Official Gazette in partnership with the Department of the Interior and Local
Government (DILG) and Team Robredo.
A Piper Seneca plane
carrying Secretary Robredo crashed off the coast of Masbate on August 18.
"Three days later,
the remains of Secretary Jesse and the two pilots were recovered. The nation is
united in grief and gratitude to one of her finest and most honorable
servant-leaders," Lacierda said. (js)
Malacanang orders
formation of an inter-agency committee to take charge of funeral arrangements
and interment of the late DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo
Malacanang on Tuesday
ordered the formation of an inter-agency committee that will take charge of the
funeral arrangements and interment of the late Secretary Jesse Robredo of the
Department of Interior and Local Government.
Executive Secretary
Paquito Ochoa Jr. issued Memorandum Circular No. 36 directing the creation of
the committee on funeral arrangements and burial of Secretary Robredo. The body
of the late secretary was found and retrieved Tuesday morning after his plane
crashed off the coast of Masbate on Saturday.
"It is fitting and
proper that the State renders honor to the late Secretary of the Interior and
Local Government, commensurate with the peoples’ affection and admiration for
him," the MC 36 stated.
"These honors and
all forms of official recognition must be done in accordance with the law,
wishes of the bereaved family of the late Secretary, and the fullest
participation of the agencies he headed and the people he represented," it
further said.
The said committee will
be composed of the Office of the Executive Secretary, Presidential Management
Staff, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Presidential
Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office, Office of the
Presidential Spokesperson, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National
Police, Office of the Presidential Protocol, Malacañang Social Office,
Appointments Office and the Presidential Security Group.
Executive Secretary
Ochoa has also assigned the Presidential Communications Development and
Strategic Planning Office to chair the meetings of the committee.
"The committee
will, from time to time, be updating the public of arrangements through the
Office of the Presidential Spokesperson as they are finalized and
determined," Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said.
The MC 36 also stated
that the said committee "may call on government entities and enjoin the
support of concerned non-government organizations and the private sector as may
be necessary to assist in the performance of its functions."
Malacanang has earlier
urged the public to pay tribute to the life and works of the late Secretary
Robredo through testimonials and remembrances.
"The nation is
united in grief and gratitude to one of her finest and most honorable
servant-leaders," Lacierda said in a separate statement on Tuesday.
"We invite everyone
to pay tribute to the exemplary life and work of Secretary Jesse through
testimonials and remembrances," Lacierda added.
He also invited netizens
to use the unified hashtag #salamatjesse for their Twitter messages and visit
www.gov.ph/salamatjesse to share their thoughts, memories, and messages of
sympathy for the Robredo family. (co)
Palace enjoins public to
reflect on the legacy of the late Senator Ninoy Aquino in commemoration of his 29th
death anniversary
The Aquino
administration enjoined our countrymen of all ages to reflect on what Senator
Benigno Aquino Jr. had hoped to achieve by coming home 29 years ago.
"On August 21,
1983, after three years of exile in the United States, Senator Aquino arrived
in the Philippines, determined to raise the fallen standard of democracy in the
country he so loved," Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a
statement issued on Tuesday in commemoration of the 29th anniversary of the
martyrdom of the former Senator Aquino.
Former Senator Aquino's
act was one of ultimate faith in the Philippines and his fellow Filipinos –
anchored on the principle that only peaceful reconciliation with justice would
achieve the restoration of democracy to prevent a Communist takeover and
economic ruin, according to Lacierda.
"His return was the
ultimate act of surrender and self-sacrifice of a man who had endured seven
years and seven months of imprisonment out of principle, to prove that the
nation could find its faith in democracy once more," he said.
"We are making
available to the public, for the first time, the Filipino translation of
Ninoy’s famous undelivered statement. May his words, life, and martyrdom,
continue to inspire us and sustain our efforts towards reform," Lacierda
noted. The said Filipino translation has been posted in the Official Gazette
online.
The assassination of
Aquino shocked not only the country but the rest of the world and awakened the
entire Filipino nation, which started a series of protests, rallies, marches
and demonstrations throughout the Philippines.
Aquino, a critic of then
President Ferdinand Marcos, returned to the Philippines after a three-year
exile in the United States and was shot dead at the tarmac of the Manila
International Airport. (js)
