Secretary Jesse Robredo JONAS CABILES SOLTES, INQUIRER SOUTHERN LUZON/PHILIPPINE RED CROSS
NAGA CITY—The Office of the President declared Aug. 18 a special non-working holiday in this city in commemoration of the third death anniversary of former Interior Secretary Jesse M. Robredo, Naga City’s mayor for 19 years.
Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr. signed the non-working-holiday declaration in the entire City of Naga on Aug. 13 with the recognition of Robredo’s outstanding performance as mayor from 1988-1998 and from 2001-2010.
Ochoa’s Proclamation No. 1103 further recognizes Robredo’s tragic death as the nation’s loss of a great leader and public servant.
He also cited Robredo’s garnering numerous awards, including the 2000 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service, the first such distinction
conferred to a Filipino mayor.
“(H)is many virtues as a public servant have permanently earned for him the gratitude of Naga City and the entire country,” Ochoa added in the
proclamation.
On Aug. 18, 2012, the ill-fated Piper Seneca carrying Robredo took off from Cebu International Airport for Naga at around 3 p.m. At 4:25 p.m., it crashed into the waters of Masbate, killing Robredo, the pilot, Capt. Jessup Bahinting, and his copilot, Kshitiz Chand, from Nepal.