Jesse Manalastas Robredo, QSC, PLH (May 27, 1958 – August 18, 2012) was

a Filipino statesman who served as Secretary of the Interior and Local Government in the
administration of President Benigno Aquino III from 2010 until his death in 2012.[6] Robredo was a
member of the Liberal Party.
Beginning in 1988, Robredo served six terms as Mayor of Naga City in Camarines Sur. In
recognition of his achievements as Naga City mayor, Robredo was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay
Award for Government Service in 2000, the first Filipino mayor so honored. He was appointed to the
Cabinet of President Aquino in July 2010.[6]
On August 18, 2012, the Piper PA-34-200 Seneca I aircraft carrying Secretary Robredo crashed off
the shore of Masbate Island.[7][8][9][10] He was scheduled to go home and watch his daughter's
swimming competition in Naga City. The Philippine Department of Interior and Local
Government said that the pilot sent a distress call to the Masbate airport requesting an emergency
landing. The airplane never made it to the airport and crashed in the sea.[11][12] Robredo's body was
retrieved three days later, August 21, 800 meters from the shore and 180 feet below sea level.[13]

Jesse Manalastas Robredo was born on May 27, 1958 in Naga City to José Chan Robredo Sr.
(1923 – 2015), a Filipino Chinese and his native Filipina wife of ethnic Bicolano descent, Marcelina
Manalastas-Robredo (1928 – 2013). Robredo is of Chinese descent through his paternal
grandfather, who immigrated to the Philippines from Fujian province at the beginning of the 20th
century,[14] and has a Hokkien Chinese name, Lim Pieng Ti.[15] He was the third of five siblings: he had
a brother, José "Butch" Robredo Jr., a businessman; and three sisters: Jocelyn Robredo-Austria,
who lives in the USA; Jenny Robredo-Tang; and Josephine (Penny) Robredo-Bundoc of the
University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH).
Jesse obtained his undergraduate degrees in industrial management engineering and mechanical
engineering at De La Salle University. He was later accepted as an Edward Mason Fellow and
graduated with a Masters of Public Administration degree from Harvard University's John F.
Kennedy School of Government in 1999. In 1985, Robredo finished his Masters in Business
Administration at the University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City, as a scholar and was
named the Graduate School and Faculty Organization awardee for scholarly excellence.[16] The Far
Eastern University bestowed Robredo with a doctorate in Humanities, honoris causa, during its 80th
commencement exercise held at the plenary hall of the Philippine International Convention Center
on April 4, 2008, recognizing his efforts to develop Naga City.
He studied at Naga Parochial School, a private Catholic school where he began to hone his talent
and love for chess. The school was known and had established a record for winning Bicol's annual
province-wide chess tournament and Robredo's brother had been among its champions. However,
when it was Robredo's turn to represent his school, he only garnered second place.
Robredo entered high school at the Ateneo de Naga University in 1970 and was in junior year when
President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law in September 1972. The university administration
immediately called an assembly and warned its students against getting involved in anti-government
activities – which could result in the school being closed down.
In 1980, Robredo worked for the San Miguel Corporation in Mandaluyong City, in the Physical
Distribution Technical Services of the General Services Division, and within six months, Robredo
had hurdled two of the three levels in the division and was then sent to the finance division for
another six months.
When Robredo's immediate superior transferred to Magnolia Ice Cream, San Miguel Corporation's
ice cream division, he was invited to come along. He was assigned to logistics planning and
concurrently functioned as staff assistant to the physical distribution director.[17]
In 1986, Robredo returned to Naga City, where he became Program Director of the Bicol River Basin
Development Program, an agency tasked to undertake integrated area development planning in the
three provinces of the Bicol region. It is while working at the BRBDP he met fellow Nagueño Leni
Gerona, whom he would marry the following year.
In 1988, Robredo was elected mayor of Naga City at age 29,[17] the youngest mayor in Philippine
history. His three terms as mayor ended on June 30, 1998.[18] He was again elected as City Mayor in
2001 and finished his second three terms on June 30, 2010.[18] He served for a total of nineteen (19)
years as Naga City Mayor before being appointed on July 9, 2010 as Secretary of the Department of
Interior and Local Government (DILG). Robredo was able to transform Naga City from being dull and
lethargic to being one of the "Most Improved Cities in Asia," as cited by Asiaweek Magazine in 1999.
[16]

During his time in city hall, Robredo was credited for "dramatically improved stakeholdership and
people participation in governance, in the process restoring Naga to its preeminent position as the
premier city of Bicol Region."[16] In 1995, in recognition of his skills and competence as a leader and
development manager, Robredo was elected President of the League of Cities of the Philippines, the
national association of city mayors. Robredo also chairs the Metro Naga Development Council."[16]He
served as chairman of the Regional Development Council, the regional planning and coordinating
body of Bicol's six provinces and seven cities, from 1992 to 1998.[16]
Benigno Aquino III was Secretary of Interior and Local Government,[19] until Aquino named Robredo
to succeed him.[6] At least two politicians from Bicol, Luis Ortega and Luis Villafuerte Sr. expressed
opposition to Robredo's confirmation by the Commission on Appointments of which Villafuerte
himself was a member.[20] In March 2012, the Commission on Appointments bypassed Robredo's
nomination.[21] His nomination was bypassed again in June 2012.[22] Another confirmation hearing had
reportedly been set on August 29, 2012, eleven days after Robredo's sudden death.[23]

On August 18, 2012, he boarded a Piper PA-34 Seneca in Cebu City to fly to Naga City, however
the airplane's pilots decided to make an emergency landing at the Moises R. Espinosa
Airport in Masbate City due to engine failure. The aircraft then crashed off the shore of Masbate
Island.[7] His aide, Police Chief Inspector June Paolo Abrazado, survived the crash. Search and
recovery operations were conducted by Philippine Coast Guard/ Philippine Coast Guard
Auxiliary, Philippine Navy, Philippine Air Force and the local government of Masbate, with assistance
from a number of foreign technical divers.
Robredo's body was found at 8:15 am, Tuesday, August 21, 2012 (PHT). The news was confirmed
by DOTC Secretary Mar Roxas. He said the body was found 800 meters (2,600 feet) off Masbate at
54 metres (177 feet) deep.[24]
At the time of his death, Robredo was survived by his wife, Vice President Maria Leonor Gerona
Robredo, and three daughters in addition to his elderly parents (including an only mother-in-law) as
well as his siblings.
His funeral was held at the Archbishop's Palace in Naga City before it was transferred
to Malacañang Palace for an official wake on August 24, 2012. His remains were later brought back
to his hometown of Naga and cremated.
Robredo's ashes are entombed at the Eternal Gardens Memorial Park.
Philippine President Aquino conferred the Philippine Legion of Honor with the rank of Chief
Commander upon Robredo on August 28, 2012 just before the state funeral.[25]