Vigil being held for successful rescue of Robredo, companions

Saturday 18th of August 2012

QUEZON CITY, Aug 18 (PIA) -- A vigil has begun for the successful rescue of Secretary of the Interior and Local Government Jesse Robredo and companions whose plane crashed Saturday afternoon. This is being held at the National Shrine of the Divine Child inside the La Salle Greenhills (LSGH) campus in Mandaluyong City

“We ask those who wish to join our fellow citizens in prayer to go to LSGH and join their fellow citizens at this time of deep concern,” Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a statement. “We ask that you keep the families of Secretary Robredo and those still missing, and those engaged in rescue efforts in your prayers as well.”

A tweet from Secretary Mar Roxas said search and rescue operations for the missing plane of Robredo and his companions have resumed after the divers have obtained compressors.

Robredo was in a Seneca twin engine aircraft enroute to Naga from Cebu when the plane’s engine failed and the pilot decided to make an emergency landing in Masbate. The aircraft was off the coast of Masbate when contact was lost earlier today.

“The site is 200 meters from shoreline,” Roxas’ tweet said.

Aside from Robredo, the aircraft was carrying an aide, and the pilot of the plane
Robredo was in a Seneca twin engine aircraft bound for . One of the pilots was Jessup Bahinting, a local hero in Cebu, Roxas said.

“We will be updating the public as details are confirmed: speculation is not useful at this point,” Lacierda said. (PIA-Central)