Thursday 23 August 2012

PIA News Dispatch - Tuesday, August 21, 2012


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)