Can Robredo still trust Roxas?

The front page of the Sunday, 17 February 2019 issue of this newspaper carried a story that ought to unsettle Leni Robredo, the purported vice president of the Philippines.

“Robredo and two of his companions would not have perished, if the plane was not a reassembled piece of aviation junk allowed by Roxas’ aviation authorities to take to the skies.

According to the news story, several vital details about the Piper-Seneca RPC 4431 airplane that crashed into the Masbate Sea on 18 August 2012 were withheld from the public by a panel of investigators created by then Transportation Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II. Jesse Robredo, the Interior Secretary at that time, was killed in that crash. He was the husband of Leni Robredo.

The plane took off from Mactan International Airport from Cebu and was headed for Naga City. On board with Robredo were the pilot, Captain Jessup Bahingtin, a Nepali student pilot, Khshitiz Chand, and Robredo’s aide, Police Senior Insp. Jun Abrasado. Only Abrasado survived the crash.

Divers from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) took three days to recover the bodies and the wreckage of the plane.

Soon thereafter, Roxas created a panel to investigate the details of the crash.

In November 2013, Roxas and his boss, then President Benigno Aquino III, held a press conference at Malacañang where it was announced that according to the investigation panel, the plane crash was caused by a defective engine and the lack of experience of Bahingtin.

Last week, however, the Daily Tribune learned that the investigation panel created by Roxas had withheld substantial information from the public regarding Robredo’s plane crash.

It turned out that an investigator from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) disputed Roxas’ panel report because it did not include the findings made by the PCG. The PCG report indicated that it was the Nepali student pilot, and not the captain, who was flying the plane, as indicated by the body of the captain which remained fastened to the co-pilot’s seat even after the plane already had crashed into the sea.

The PCG report further indicated the plane engine was bought abroad as junk material, but later reassembled in the Philippines and bore a tampered serial number.

It was also found that while the propeller of the plane was in good condition, the right engine’s idler shaft was loose. Further, a stud screwed to the crankcase was missing and another screw was loose and worn out.

The most disturbing finding was that the plane was allowed to take off without carrying an emergency transmitter locator (ELT) which allows rescuers to track it down in the event of a crash. Under the law, all planes must have an ELT on board. The absence of the requisite ELT on board the ill-fated plane was the reason why PCG divers took three days to locate the wreckage.

Further investigation revealed that the ELT that was registered for use by Robredo’s plane was installed on another plane, a Beechcraft Sierra RPC 1038, used by a flying school in Muntinlupa.

The actual location of the ELT was ascertained only in May 2013 when it was accidentally turned on during a routine inspection by its owner in Muntinlupa, and its transmission was monitored by a search and rescue compass in Hong Kong.

Another disturbing finding was that Bahingtin’s pilot license had already expired by the time he was on board the plane. It was also learned that the Nepali student pilot was not licensed to fly the type of plane Robredo and his entourage boarded.

For reasons so far undisclosed, the investigation panel created by Roxas did not include the CAAP and PCG findings in its final report to the public.

Had he done his homework as the Transportation secretary, Roxas would have noticed that the final report of the investigation panel he created failed to consider the vital information supplied by the CAAP and the PCG. It’s either that or he allowed his investigation panel to conceal the important details from the public, including Leni Robredo.

From all indications, the crash would not have taken place, and Robredo and two of his companions would not have perished, if the plane was not a reassembled piece of aviation junk allowed by Roxas’ aviation authorities to take to the skies in the first place.

Whether or not the late Jesse Robredo was set up is a big mystery.

Right now, the question to ask is whether or not Leni Robredo will still trust Roxas now that the cat is out of the bag.