Half-mast for Robredo

THE flag will be raised at half-mast today at the City Hall as Davao City mourns the death of Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said.

Duterte-Carpio said she will be paying her last respects to the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) secretary and she is just waiting for final arrangements regarding Robredo’s wake and funeral.

She already asked her brother Councilor Paolo Duterte to bring the wreath that the city will send.

Duterte-Carpio, who had worked closely with the late DILG Secretary, recalled how he was as a public official.

"He was a kind man. He was very kind to me -- always helpful and never condescending -- he is my best example of how you don’t need to sing and dance to win an election," the mayor said.

She said she was touched upon knowing that Robredo was not just a good public servant but a good father as well.

"Saludo ako sa kanya. Minsan lang ako mapabilib ng isang lalaki. Secretary Jesse, my hats off to you. Para sa akin, ang malasakit niya sa pamilya far outshines his excellence in public service. May you rest in peace Sir Jesse," the mayor added.

Meanwhile, Housing and Urban Development Undersecretary Wendel Avisado who was in town for the long weekend said Robredo was working closely with the housing department to identify illegal settler communities in Metro Manila.

“He was the only interior and local government secretary who insisted on the role of local governments in helping address the problem of illegal settlers. Others before him never understood the key role of local governments,” Avisado told Sun.Star Davao.

While Indigenous Peoples representative to the City Council Berino Mambo-o has not yet issued any statement about Robredo, he owes his position to the memorandum circular issued by the secretary requiring legislative councils to install indigenous people’s representatives as required by law.

In a separate interview, Francisco Jose, regional chief of DILG-Davao region told Sun.Star Davao over the phone on Tuesday that whenever he hears his boss’s name, two words would usually come to his mind: "Transparency and Accountability"

"Isa siyang leader na always on-the-go. Palagi siyang nag-mamadali at maraming hinanabol na trabaho," Jose said.

Jose said Robredo was a down-to-earth person and never treated subordinates as subordinates. Once can text him personally unlike any other high-ranking officials in the government, he added.

In an official statement issued by the DILG-Davao, it said that the reforms Robredo has started are crucial in the nation-building.

"As of the first semester this year, 8,504 LGUs already have functional disaster management councils. Exactly 1,539 have command centers and alarm systems. They now have emergency response, rescue, and medical teams, and evacuation centers," the statement read.

Today, employees of DILG-Davao are set to hold a mass for Robredo at Ascencion Chapel at GSIS Heights in Matina at 11 a.m.

Robredo comes home

Robredo was finally home in Naga City on Tuesday afternoon. His remains, accompanied by President Benigno Aquino III from Masbate, arrived at the Naga Airport at 12:45 p.m.

The Robredo family asked the public to allow them to mourn the death of the Cabinet official.

Public viewing will start later Tuesday at the Archbishop's Palace in Naga City.

The man idolized by many for his advocacy on clean governance was found 800 meters from the shores of Masbate at a depth of 180 feet, three days after his plane crashed.

President Aquino arrived in Masbate Airport around noon Tuesday, hours after the confirmation of the retrieval of the remains of Robredo off the waters of Masbate.

The metal casket bearing the remains of Robredo was transferred to the C130 plane.

Aquino, who personally led the search and rescue operations, flew back to Manila Monday for the commemoration of his father's death anniversary, former Senator Benigno Simeno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. on Tuesday.

Divers found early morning on Tuesday the bodies of Robredo and pilots Captain Jessup Bahinting and Nepalese Kshitiz Chand off the waters of Masbate, after three days of search and rescue operations.

An emotional Transportation and Communications Secretary Manuel Roxas, who is overseeing the search and rescue operations, confirmed the recovery of Robredo's body and the continuing retrieval operation of the bodies of the two pilots.

A State Funeral

Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. on Tuesday issued a memorandum creating an inter-agency committee that will handle the preparations for the state funeral for late Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo.

"Today, the Executive Secretary issued Memorandum Circular 36, creating a committee to take charge of the funeral arrangements and interment of the late Jesse Robredo, Secretary of the Interior and Local Government," Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said.

Lacierda said the committee will be composed of representatives from the DILG, Office of the Presidential Spokesperson, Office of the Executive Secretary, Presidential Management Staff, Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO), Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, Office of the Presidential Protocol, Malacañang Social Office, Appointments Office, Presidential Security Group and the City Government of Naga.

The committee will be led by the PCDSPO.

"Its task will be to make all the necessary arrangements for the official honors and state funeral for the late Jesse M. Robredo, in keeping with protocol, our laws, and the wishes of the bereaved family," said Lacierda.

"From time to time, the committee will be updating the public of arrangements through the Office of the Presidential Spokesperson as they are finalized and determined," he added.

There have been suggestions that Robredo's remains be laid to rest at the Libingan ng mga Bayani but Malacañang has yet to comment on it. (With Jill Beltran/Sunnex)