Disaster Ill-Equipped Country: The Philippines Should Learn From Secretary Robredo’s Death

It was August 21, 2012 when the body of Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo recovered in the coastal area of Masbate, two days after the plane crash.

And that ends all the hope that he will be recovered alive.

A day after, the body of the owner and pilot of ill-fated Piper Seneca, Captain Jessup Bahinting was also found inside the plane which was upside down at a depth of 180 feet.

And early morning today, the body of Bahinting’s co-pilot, Kshitiz Chand was also found floating by fishermen after it went missing when the plane wreckage was successfully extricated last night.

The retrieval operations ended in just few days. And this is history. Usually the search, rescue and retrieval operations in air or sea accidents took several months because of the lack of equipment and trained personnel.

The Philippines is a disaster-prone country but the government failed to realized the importance of being well-equipped. The recovery of the bodies of the three victims would have last for two to three months if we did not sought the help of other countries and private/ professional divers.

But there’s one good thing about this tragedy: Bayanihan.