Bahinting to be buried in Cebu hometown Monday

Captain Jessup Bahinting ,Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Aviatour Flying Inc.pose with one of his plane during interview with CDN business reporter last Oct. 4, 2010. CDN FILE PHOTO

CEBU CITY—The body of Captain Jessup Bahinting, the pilot of the ill-fated Piper Seneca that crashed into the seas off Masbate on August 18, was transferred to Ginatilan town on Sunday morning.

Bahinting, Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo and Nepali copilot Kshitiz Chand died in the crash.

On August 21, the body of Robredo was recovered from the fuselage of the plane, which sank 180 feet around 800 meters from the shoreline. The bodies of Bahinting and Chand were recovered on August 22 and 23, respectively.

Margaret Rose Veniegas, the Bahinting family’s designated spokesperson, said the funeral car bearing Bahinting’s body left the St. Peter Memorial Chapel on Imus St., Cebu City, around 11 a.m. Sunday for the Jessup Margie’s Beach Resort in Ginatilan town, around 130 kilometers southwest of Cebu City. An overnight wake was scheduled at the family resort in Barangay (village) San Roque, Ginatilan on Sunday.

Ginatilan is the hometown of Bahinting’s wife, Margarita.

The Cebu City government has offered vehicles for the transport of people who would like to pay their last respects to Bahinting in Ginatilan.

The members of the Grace Communion International will hold their last service at the resort at 2 p.m. Monday. The family belongs to the Grace Communion International, a Christian denomination based in Southern California.

After the service, the funeral procession scheduled at 3 p.m. will proceed from the resort to the Ginatilan Cemetery, where Bahinting will be buried.

Veniegas said they were expecting more than 300 people to pay their last respects to Bahinting.

“Some called up and said they will just go to neighboring towns of Moalboal or Samboan to stay in resorts so they can be with the family to honor Captain Bahinting,” said Veniegas.

Pilots, employees and former Aviatour employees will wear white shirts bearing “We Love JMB.” JMB stands for Jessup M. Bahinting.

Veniegas also said that the Nepalese pilot Chand’s body was flown at 7:30 a.m. from Cebu to Manila then to Qatar. The body will then be boarded on another flight to Kathmandu, Nepal.