Masses offered in Bacolod for Robredo's safety

THE La Salle community in Bacolod City prayed the rosary and offered a mass at the University of St. La Salle (USLS) Monday night for the safety of Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo.

USLS president Bro. Ray Suplido said a vigil was also held for Robredo, who obtained his undergraduate degrees in Industrial Management Engineering and Mechanical Engineering at the De La Salle University.

Robredo and pilots Captain Jessup Bahinting, who also owns the Aviatour Air’s Piper Seneca plane, and his Nepalese co-pilot Kshitiz Chand remained missing Monday off Masbate waters.

Their twin-engine Piper Seneca plunged into the seas off Masbate while maneuvering for an emergency landing at the Masbate airport.

Robredo's close-in security aide Police Chief Inspector Jun Abrasado survived the crash but he sustained fractures.

Aside from the La Salle community, the Peace Advocates of Negros also set a mass for Robredo.

Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Maranon Jr. appealed to all Negrenses to continue praying for Robredo, his companions and their families.

Maranon described Robredo as one of the hard working technocrats in the country.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in Negros Occidental, meanwhile, is on stand by for a possible search and rescue operation, in case of a more intensified search and rescue for the missing DILG chief and two others.

Lieutenant Commander Dominador Senador III of the PCG-Negros also appealed to those on board vessels and fishing boats to immediately inform the PCG or any local government unit in case they encounter or notice some possible remnants of the plane.