Liveblog: Departure Honors for Sec. Jesse Robredo, prep at 7:37am
GMA7 News TV Channel 24 (Channel 11 on free tv) is live-covering the departure honors for Sec. Jesse Robredo, there’s a quarter-screen inset showing real-time what is going on at the Archbishop Palace in Naga City.
7:40am the flag-draped coffin is being carried and escorted by high officials of the PNP, being brought outside the building ,
7:41am followed by members of the family, policemen and other officials line up .
7:42 they stop in front of honor guard, lift the coffin, the pall bearers are high officials representing the different branches of PNP.
7:44 High officials, honor guards, policemen execute a salute to Sec. Robredo, the sound of pealing of bells as it seems.
7: 45, very slowly, they turn left and walk very slowly bearing the coffin. pathway lined up by white wreaths, solemn music from military band. Pathway lined by more honor guards. Very orderly and quiet.
7:47 pall bearers approach the funeral cortege, now the flag- draped coffin being brought inside the funeral cortege.
7:48 they laid it there, door still open, the pall bearers execute a military about-face and slowly march away. the door is closed. A high official executes a salute before the closed door. Black funeral cortege.
7:50 am funeral cortege inches away, very slowly, honor guards execute a miltary about-face.
7:51 family members board a white van, to follow the funeral cortege, pall bearers, honor guards, and the police slowly march away. Funeral procession proceeds on a street filled with people to the brim, solemn and very orderly.
no more visuals for now, just a phone-patched report.
8:03 am GMAChannel 7 Free TV Unang Hirit, quarter-screen inset of Naga airport showing the plane and more PNP members waiting for the funeral cortege.
GMA7 News TV on Channel 24 (Channel 11 on free tv): Inside the studio, the playlist includes: “Jesse” by Roberta Flack; “Simply Jessie”, Rex Smith; they also played what they researched as the favorite song of Sec. Jesse Robredo, the OPM (original Pinoy music) “Ikaw”, version of Martin Nievera — aren’t you heartened, that his fave song is an OPM? — (i am shamed!) Regular reporting of the day’s news in the city proceeds.
ABS-CBN news cable, 8:10am quarter-screen inset of the funeral procession showing a giant gold-and-white image of the Lady of Peñafrancia as part of the procession.
8:28 GMA News TV Channel 24, quarter-screen inset, Naga airport, honor guards line up the tarmac, they’re in their dark blue uniform and white “guardia civil” hats/caps… on a sunny, windy day at the Naga airport in Pili, Camarines Sur.
And now GMA News is playing Phil Collins’s upbeat drum tempo “Take me Home” for the Naga airport setting.
8:52 pall bearers now bring the casket to the plane. 8:53 casket now inside the plane. Pall bearers stand at attention. family members are also standing before the door of the plane.
8:55 family members now walk slowly and go inside the plane. as the door is shut, pall bearers execute a salute. Honor guards still at attention.
Update: Search for Jesse Robredo & pilots: Of brave & tireless divers; deeper, more focused dives; additional sonars; infrared; hoping for the Orion
From Yahoo Philippines: “Rescuers are focusing their search on an area 5 kilometers by 2 kilometers, with depths ranging from “ `30 meters to around 300 feet (91.44 meters)’, he (Trade Secretary Mar Roxas, the designated spokesperson) said. On his Twitter account, Roxas announced that divers will dive to around 250-300 feet on Monday. He said equipment and a decompression chamber from the Philippine Coast Guard will be ready for deeper dives.” (Yahoo Philippines at ph.yahoo.com)
From Mar Roxas: “Update 2200-last diver while at 150ft saw metallic parts with letterings at deeper levels.Sonars, are 2 now will focus on this area” (twitter.com/MARoxas)
[blog admin: In long-hand, that is: “The last diver while at a depth of 150 feet, saw metallic parts with letterings at deeper levels. There are now two sonars being used, and we will focus on this area.” (long-hand of Mar Roxas’s tweet)]
From inquirer.net: “Lt. Cmdr. Armand Balilo, Coast Guard spokesperson, said “big fishing boats with powerful lights helped in the search, trying to locate the plane’s wreckage,” but they had “no success so far.” xxx“We gave the grid coordinates of the crash site to our American counterpart,” Balilo said. “We hope they can dispatch today one of their Lockheed P3 Orion aircraft to help in the search for the missing plane.” (inquirer.net)
What is the Lockheed P3 Orion?
Aeroflight Co. of the United Kingdom says that the Orion has a 360° search radar, acoustic and non-acoustic sensors, magnetic anomaly detector, etc. It’s a “(l)and-based, long range, anti-submarine warfare patrol and anti-surface warfare aircraft. xxx Update … in 1977 included an infrared detection system, a sonobuoy reference system, the Harpoon anti-ship missile and 28-channel magnetic tape recorder/reproducer. xxx The ASW variants have a comprehensive suite of communications, navigation, acoustic and non-acoustic sensors, and data-processing equipment. The Orion’s capability has been greatly increased during its operational life, IFF interrogator, LTN-72 INS, Doppler navigation radar, 360° search radar, MAD, AN/AQA-7 Direction Low-Frequency Analyzer and Ranging (DIFAR) system and chin mounted FLIR.” (from aeroflight.co.uk)
“The current fleet is armed with a variety of sensors for detecting and locating enemy submarines and ships, torpedoes, mines, depth charges, and Harpoon anti-ship missiles. xxx In recent years, older P-3 airframes have also been adapted to a variety of other tasks, including the P-3AEW&C airborne radar platform used by US Customs to combat drug trafficking and the EP-3E Aries intelligence aircraft used to monitor communications and electronic emissions. xxx Estimated cost (of the Orion): $36 million.” (from aerospace.org at aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/maritime/p3/index.shtml)
From Mar Roxas 15 seconds ago: “US plane wid FLIR, forward looking infra red, also did flyby passes.” (twitter.com/MARoxas) In long-hand, that is: “A U.S. plane with FLIR, or Forward-Looking Infrared devices, also did fly-by passes.”
