The August 21 events

I won’t ever forget!

It was indeed shocking news that the plane of Department the of Interior and Local Government (DILG) went missing last Saturday (as of press time, they still haven’t found it except for a few debris like a part of a wing) evening off Masbate. But what made the report doubly saddening was that the missing plane was the Piper Seneca II of Aviatour piloted by my good friend Capt. Jessup Bahinting. As of press time last Sunday, Sec. Robredo and Capt. Bahinting and his co-pilot were still missing despite the earnest efforts by the Coast Guard to recover the aircraft from the bottom of the sea.

Our hopes were buoyed by the fact that Capt. June Abrazado, an aide of Sec. Robredo, survived this horrific crash and was able to extricate himself from the sinking plane, which unfortunately had engine trouble and Capt. Bahinting was trying to make an emergency landing in Masbate City… but it crashed within a kilometer before the runway.

I have long known Capt. Bahinting as a great friend and a good pilot. In fact two years ago, I invited him to be part of the 10th anniversary celebration of my TV talkshow, “Straight from the Sky” together with Air Safari’s Capt. Joy Roa, where we flew in formation taking videos of Cebu from the sky. It was a television first, having Air Safari as my guest with Capt. Bahinting and Capt. Joy Roa also making us as his guest on Air Safari. I will always have good memories of Capt. Bahinting.

Incidentally, my son JV, who is taking flying lessons with Aviatour, told me that recently Aviatour flew a mercy mission bringing to Cebu the wounded bodyguards of the Surigao Governor who were ambushed last week and a few days ago, they flew in anti-venom for the zoo caretaker who was bitten by a cobra in the Cebu City Zoo. All these flights were authorized by Capt. Jessup Bahinting, which shows to you that he has a big heart.

I recall at one time, Capt. Jessup telling me about that emergency-landing incident he had with then former Governor Emilio “Lito” Osmeña in a beach in Sogod, Cebu some 60 kilometers north of Cebu City. The plane he was flying was a single engine plane, which had fuel problems. But he glided the plane along the beach in Sogod and they were all unhurt. He was lucky then.

Call Capt. June Abrazado lucky he was able to get out of the sinking plane. He is the only person who can tell us what really went terribly wrong with the Piper Seneca that even an experienced pilot like Capt. Jessup Bahinting couldn’t handle anymore. I also can’t figure out what really went violently wrong with the Piper Seneca. From the Philippine Star reports, Capt. Abrazado texted someone that they were having propeller problems. We can only verify this if the wreckage would finally be found.

This incident once again reminds us of the need for a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) just like what most western nations have. I don’t know why until now Congress has not filed any such law especially that we have long been known as a country of maritime disasters. The NTSB should be a constitutional body that can independently look into disasters to find out the root cause of the disaster.

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If you are 29-years-old today, chances are, you were still a baby when the late Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr. was assassinated in 1983. If I considered Ninoy as the “hero” of my generation, it is because in those days, many of us especially here in Cebu, were opposed to the conjugal Marcos Dictatorship. The reason was, the last elections in a democratic Philippines was held in 1969 with Pres. Marcos running against Sen. Sergio “Serging” Osmeña, Jr. Because Serging lost that race, Cebu was not given any political importance under Marcos and it became worse during Martial Law.

Today is also the 41st anniversary of the Plaza Miranda bombing. If you are 41-years old, you were still a baby when the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), under the orders of Jose Maria “Joma” Sison, threw two grenades at the 4,000 people in front of Quiapo Church during the Miting de Avance of the Liberal Party (LP). Famous senators like Serging, Jovito Salonga, Gerry Roxas and yes, including Sonny Osmeña, were wounded in that bombing… and scores were killed.

Then Pres. Marcos blamed the Communists for this dastardly deed, while the Communists pinned the blame against Pres. Marcos. The truth according to Sen. Jovito Salonga, who wrote in his memoirs, was that Marcos was right in accusing the Communist for sowing terror in our political system. Even today, the Communists are still out to destroy our political system. This is why allied front organizations or the so-called “above ground” allies of the CPP are now members of the party-list, from Gabriela to Bayan. The Plaza Miranda bombings and Ninoy’s assassination will always be etched in my memory as a reminder of how ugly our politics have become.

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