Readers' views - Capt. Jessup Bahinting -a good and kind man

An avalanche of praises and hosannas expressing great admiration and deep appreciation has never ceased to be heaped on the late DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo.  And rightly so.  For if there is one who may be an epitome of a public servant today, most would agree that the late Secretary Robredo should be it.

 But our adulation of those deserving should not be limited to those in high positions in government and society.  Hence, I have been pleased that the media had been generously reporting accounts of Capt. Jessup Bahinting’s philantrophic efforts in the service of his countrymen in times of calamity and emergencies—how active he was in disaster relief work and mercy flights, how he flew relief missions from Marikina during “Ondoy” to Guinsaugon in Southern Leyte after the landslide; his relief missions to Negros Oriental after the earthquake and to the cities of Cagayan and Iligan after the devastation wrought by Sendong.  And quite recently, how he had saved the life of a Cebu zookeeper who was bitten by a cobra by offering to get the much-needed anti-venom vaccine from Camiguin.  

 Yet his kind works of mercy all these years had hardly been noticed previously.  That must have been because Capt. Bahinting, the unassuming guy that he is, (just like Sec. Robredo) must have preferred to follow Christ’s teaching to be careful “not to do your [charitable] acts before men, to be seen by them.”  Instead do it without much fanfare, “then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:1-4)

 Another admirable trait of Capt. Bahinting which I wish to highlight is his tendency and willingness to sacrifice himself if need be, to save others.  This had been highlighted again lately during that tragic Masbate incident.  As reported in the news, after their plane’s right engine had conked out, it began to veer uncontrollably towards the most populated barangay in that city.  Instinctively, Capt. Bahinting turned the plane away from the populated village and towards the sea instead. That singular act of his must have helped save dozens if not hundreds of lives from certain death.  But in so doing, it took his life and his co-pilot and sadly that of Sec. Robredo.

 I thought that was very typical of Bahinting.  I happened to know him quite well because we spent some time together.  Back in 1984, I was then a pastor of what is now known as the Grace Communion International.  I was newly assigned with my family in Cagayan de Oro.  Bahinting was then newly recruited by the leadership of our church to serve in the ministry and be trained as a pastor under me.  And man! What an asset he was!  He was such a hardworking, very responsible guy with a fast gait and was a fast doer.  And his mind worked even faster.  He was so pro-active.

 During that time, almost 30 years ago, our circuit church area was so big—from Butuan even farther down to Surigao del Sur and far west towards Ozamis City and down south into Bukidnon. In one of our circuit travels visiting the churches, Jess, as I used to call Capt. Bahinting, would usually offer to drive our vehicle.  I would usually let him so that he also could log in more experience in driving.  He admitted that he had not done very much driving yet at that time, having been more of a pilot.  But his driving was already good enough.  

 At one point during that drive, we saw a rooster in the middle of the road, busy pecking at something.  So as not to run over the rooster, Bahinting suddenly swerved our vehicle to one side to avoid hitting the rooster.  But in so doing, our vehicle almost lost its balance, tilting quite dangerously.  Thank God we did not figure in an accident.  Immediately, I asked him why he suddenly swerved our vehicle instead of applying the brakes.  All he managed was a sheepish grin and muttered, “I’m sorry,” but did not give any explanation.

 His actuation had puzzled me all these years.  Only lately did I come to realize that it must have been due to his flying instincts.  Because he had done more flying than driving then, for a moment he must have thought he was in the cockpit of a plane instead of the driver’s seat.  And so his flying instinct must have given him the reflex to swerve rather than apply the brakes.  Because when one is piloting a plane, one may avoid a head-on collision only by swerving the plane right or left, up or down.  There is no such thing as brakes.  So it must have been by instinct that he swerved our vehicle to save the hapless rooster.  It was then and there that I first noticed his trait of willingness to sacrifice himself to save others—even just a poor rooster. 

 Learning now of his effort to avoid crashing his plane on a populated village and ditching it instead into the sea, had convinced me further of this character trait of his: of preferring to save others even if it meant sacrificing himself—but sadly including those with him.

 With all the kindness and good deeds he had shown in “His Majesty’s sacred service” and also in his Aviatours Air company, it is no wonder that hordes of grateful people have come from all over the country to pay their last respects and show their love for him.  Even humble folks throughout the areas he had served in Mindanao and the Visayas have gathered in Cebu to give their final “Thank you and goodbye” to a well-loved pastor, brother, friend, pilot, boss and benefactor.

Indeed, “Jess,” “Pastor Jessup,” “Capt. Jessup M. Bahinting” will be sorely missed!