Did Sec. Robredo really help Sen. Ping?

Task Force “Kalihim” has finally closed its search and rescue operations (it shifted gears last Monday to retrieval), which began last Saturday when DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo’s plane was reported missing and failed to make its emergency landing at the Masbate City Airport. On Tuesday morning, the remains of Sec. Jesse Robredo were found inside the Piper Seneca II, which was upside down on the seabed.

 Watching the video footages of the inverted aircraft some 180 ft. under the water, gives us an idea that it is really not that easy to recover the bodies of the pilots. It was only last Wednesday when the Philippine Navy recovered the remains of our dear friend Capt. Jessup Bahinting and yesterday morning, his Nepalese co-pilot Kshitiz Chand was finally brought up to the shore and perhaps it may have been brought back to Cebu by this time.

 Hopefully, after the State Funeral for Sec. Robredo, things will normalize in Malacañang. Meanwhile, I hope that the Philippine Navy would also bring to the surface the wreck of the Piper Seneca II so investigators can find out why the aircraft came into its violent end. There are several factors that could have caused the crash, aside from the potential propeller problem, and one of them is wind shear, which is known to be so deadly, even the most experienced pilots fail to react when it strikes the aircraft, more so that Capt. Bahinting was on his final approach to Masbate airport.

 Off hand, I just hope that the Philippine Government would make a request to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in the United States to help in this investigation for the simple reason that I don’t trust the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) to conduct this investigation because they might just want to please Pres. Benigno “PNoy” Aquino, III who is known to be a “fault finder.” All we want is the truth!

 I know Capt. Jessup Bahinting to be one of the most experienced pilots in Cebu, which is why celebrities like Sec. Jesse Robredo insisted that he fly him to Naga on his plane. My readers know that I have a passion for flying small aircrafts or other military stuff. I also know that if a pilot believes that his aircraft is not worthy of flying, he would never risk his own life, much more that of his passengers. When Capt. Jessup flew his Piper Seneca II, he had the confidence that his plane was spic and span.

 But then, there was that text message that Sec. Robredo’s aide, Senior Insp. June Abrazado, sent that the right engine had stalled or as he said, had propeller problems. It is quite possible that his observations were correct. With the right engine in trouble, Capt. Jessup decided to make an emergency landing in Masbate City, which was on the way to Naga. Mind you, this is not the first time for Capt. Jessup to handle an emergency landing. This is perhaps why he did not have to call a “Mayday” because he had the aircraft under control, until the final approach where he was just a little over a hundred feet from the sea when something caused the plane to crash.

 Meanwhile, the nation mourns the loss of three people, especially for me, Capt. Jessup Bahinting who was a very good friend. In the case of Sec. Jesse Robredo, the nationwide TV coverage of his life has revealed that he is indeed, an exemplary public servant and everyone, even the critics of PNoy, are all praises for Sec. Robredo.

 But then a side issue suddenly erupted when Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson issued a statement that it was Sec. Robredo who “helped” him while he was still in hiding. Sen. Lacson said, “I will always be thankful to Sec. Jesse Robredo for personally albeit quietly helping me during my difficult time while in hiding. Now known to all, he tried his level best to convince Justice Sec. de Lima to comply with the Court of Appeals decision reversing the Manila Regional Trial court’s probable cause ruling against me.”

 This elicited a sharp rebuke from Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who virtually “scolded” Sen. Lacson for being “disrespectful and improper” in issuing such a statement while the nation was still in mourning and most of all, Sec. Robredo could neither confirm nor deny. If you recall, Sen. Ping Lacson was accused in the Corbito-Dacer double murder and went into hiding until this CA reversal. Now the truth is out… that he perhaps “used” Sec. Robredo to get off the hook and the Justice Secretary obliged.

 But what the rest of us do not realize is, when you run away from the law, you already commit another crime, of which Sec. de Lima did not even pursue. Call it a dereliction of duty if you wish, but at the very least, the DOJ should have investigated the return of Sen. Lacson and found out who coddled him, especially when he returned with a fake passport. All these were simply wiped away from the records of Sen. Ping Lacson with special thanks to Sec. de Lima. Surely, this side issue would blossom to be a major one after the funeral of Sec. Robredo.

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