Among the deep mysteries in the aftermath of the 2012 crash of a twin-engine aircraft that led to the death of Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo was the outburst of then Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas on Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) officials.

“Malacañang, apparently on orders of President Noynoy Aquino and Roxas, issued statements saying the report is not yet final and that it was only the official’s opinion.

Roxas’ flare-up almost led to the mass resignation of the agency handling the probe on the disaster that happened in the seas off Masbate.

The cause of Roxas’ chagrin was the CAAP’s baring of the results of its investigation to a legislative panel probing the incident.

Roxas confronted then CAAP deputy director general retired Capt. John Andrews for revealing during the congressional oversight committee on CAAP that there was no foul play in the crash.

Andrews revealed that an investigation conducted by the aviation agency showed there is no indication that the Piper Seneca aircraft that carried Robredo and his two pilots was sabotaged.

“We are doing a parallel investigation as far as CAAP is concerned for possible punitive or other actions to be taken, for or against the airline concerned. As far as the accident is concerned, it is established that there is no foul play. Maybe it was an accident that was waiting to happen,” Andrews told the congressional panel.

After Andrew’s declaration, Malacañang, apparently on orders of President Noynoy Aquino and Roxas, issued statements saying the report is not yet final and that it was only the official’s opinion.

Roxas’ Department of Transportation and Communication (DoTC) also issued a disclaimer on Andrews’ statements as they were “unauthorized” and “speculative.

“The remarks made by ret. Capt. John Andrews were unauthorized albeit elicited from a joint Congressional committee hearing to look into the cause of the accident,” the DoTC said in a statement.

Roxas also warned the public against making their own conclusions based on “speculative” statements by Andrews.

“What was expressed in the media were personal conjectures and must not in any way be construed as reflective of the ongoing investigation,” a distressed Roxas said.

He added Andrews was not involved in the investigation of the crash. He issued his official statement after berating Andrews.

Roxas allegedly told Andrews that he had no authority to release to the public the result of an ongoing investigation on the plane crash. “Besides, wala ka pa sa plantilla (you’re not even in the government plantilla),” he reportedly told Andrews.

Andrews contemplated on resigning after the incident and his colleagues were supposed to join him after the rough treatment from Roxas.

The CAAP also then was embroiled in a tumult after its Special Investigator Cesar Jose Lucero raised questionable circumstances surrounding the plane’s operator, Aviatours Inc.

The findings included: the Air Operators Certificate 2009010 issued to Aviatours lapsed on 14 February 2012, but had been given three consecutive extensions up to 14 November 2012, a practice frowned upon by both the European Union and US Federal Aviation Administration Safety Auditors; the crashed PA-34-200 Piper Seneca was not included in the company’s Approved Maintenance Organization Certificate which lists the type of aircrafts authorized for Aviatours; that the pilot, Capt. Jessup Bahinting, was extracted from the right seat of the cockpit, indicating that his Nepalese student was in command of the plane; the Nepalese pilot had a private pilot license with ratings for Cessna 152- and 172-type of aircraft only, indicating he was not authorized to fly the Piper Seneca on a commercial basis and the company had a track record of importing used planes that figured in previous crashes.

For coming up with the findings, somebody from Malacañang ordered his suspension.

Only Roxas can explain the cause of his discomfort days after the tragic accident that claimed the life of a key Cabinet official.