Hundreds file past Robredo bier as outpouring of grief continues

Friends, colleagues and supporters pays their last respect to the late Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo during the public viewing at the Kalayaan Hall, Malacañan Palace on Friday night. Malacañang Photo Bureau

MANILA, Philippines—The powerful and the lowly  came in droves Saturday to pay homage to Jesse Robredo in Malacañang before his remains are flown back Sunday to Naga City for Tuesday’s state funeral.

Mourners, led by former President Fidel V. Ramos and diplomats, steadily streamed into the sprawling grounds of the Kalayaan Hall to pay their respects to the late interior secretary, who perished in a plane crash in Masbate City on August 18.

Under alternating bursts of rain and sunlight, people from all walks of life, including persons with disabilities and the blind, waited in line to pay homage to the 54-year-old Robredo, whose death prompted an outpouring of grief. Once inside the hall, the stream of mourners  would file past the bier, walking around it before heading for the exit.

Some wore T-shirts emblazoned with Robredo’s portrait. Others turned up with posters bearing messages of goodwill for the late secretary, who was extolled for championing good governance and introducing reforms in government.

“Three years after the death of President Corazon Aquino, we’re again witnessing a phenomenal event where the death of a Cabinet member is leaving deep imprints on the hearts  and minds of many Filipinos,” said Secretary Herminio Coloma of the Presidential Communications and Operations Office.

Many, including Ramos and ambassadors from different countries, came in cars, getting off in front of the American-era Kalayaan Hall. Others had to trudge from Gate 7 past the sprawling tree-lined grounds to get to the hall, where Robredo’s flag-draped, sealed casket lies.

Ramos came to the wake Saturday morning while President Benigno Aquino was preparing to administer the oath of office to newly appointed Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno at the nearby Rizal Hall, Malacañang staff said. Sereno later  stopped by the wake to pay her respects to Robredo, whose advocacy of good governance she said she would emulate. So did Justice Secretary Leila de Lima.

Navy commander Vice Adm. Alexander Pama showed up with Navy men who took part in the massive operations to scour the waters off Masbate City in search of Robredo, whose body was recovered from the fuselage of the plane last Tuesday morning.

Also seen at the wake were Cecile Guidote-Alvarez, Commission on Human Rights Chair Loretta Ann Rosales, and executives of the ABS-CBN News Channel. Every now and then, flashy cars drove into the compound to unload diplomats in crisp suits.

A bus later disgorged, through its back door down a ramp, mourners in wheelchairs. In a sight that caught the attention of many, blind people led one another by hand as they walked up the ramp to the hall.

Robredo’s family arrived by bus around 12:18 p.m. Saturday. Aquino emerged at the hall around 1:15 p.m. but left shortly after.

On Friday, the day Robredo’s remains were flown from Naga City and brought to Malacañang, more than 2,000 mourners turned up at the wake. The crowd was so big, and lines so long that the filing past the bier was extended from 11 p.m. Friday  to 1 a.m. Saturday, Malacañang staff members said.

“In last night’s public viewing (Friday night), we saw people from all walks of life. Some of them came in soaking wet because of the rains. They didn’t mind the bad weather,’’ said Coloma.

Aquino stayed in the wake until Friday midnight, Palace staffers said.

On Saturday, the Presidential Security Group estimated the crowd of mourners at more than 4,000. People were still filing inside the hall as of 5:30 p.m., and there were still crowds outside. Public viewing was originally set to end 5 p.m. Saturday, Malacañang.

After the public viewing, a public Mass and memorial services by the Liberal Party and the Cabinet followed.

On Sunday, between 6 and 7 a.m., the Presidential Security Group will render departure honors, including a 19-gun salute, for Robredo’s remains before these are brought to Villamor Air Base in Pasay City for the flight back to Naga City, Robredo’s widow had described as her husband’s “happy place.”