Robredo’s eldest daughter Aika was interviewed on television and thanked President Benigno Aquino III on the government's relentless efforts to find Robredo as well as the two pilots who were on board the ill-fated Piper Seneca plane.
A vigil is being held at Robredo's residence in Naga City where family and friends gathered to pray non-stop for his successful rescue.
Internal conflict
But as is common in these instances when there is uncertainty, Robredo’s brother Butch seemed resigned to finding only the secretary’s body.
"Maibalik lang sa amin yung body (We simply want the body returned to us) so we'll be able to move forward. That's actually what we want,” Butch said in a separate interview at Good Morning Club Monday.
"I do not want to speak po in behalf of the family because we may feel differently, kami-kaming magkakapatid (us siblings). Pero ako sana makuha na namin siya para naman makastart na kami (But for me, I only want to recover him so we can start) and we can move on initially,” he added.
Butch went on to discuss the plan for the day: Tanks are being filled with nitrogen, helium, and oxygen so that the divers may last longer, some 20 minutes, underwater.
He said the air tanks that were used the past couple of days allowed divers to stay underwater for only five minutes.
Butch also said the sonar on Sunday detected something located 200 feet deep, but it was off-centered.
The objective of the dive, he said, is to find the plane. The two sonars work as a tag team: One would roam around what the other has marked. "Probably nandun daw so medyo hopeful naman ako dun. (They said it’s probably there so I am a bit hopeful about it)," he said.
Hurt by false stories of rescue
At the same time, he asked the people to stop spreading false stories that unduly give hope.
"I think it is unfair for our family. We are in pain and then people will just play a prank on us. Please don't do this to us. We are already suffering yet some opt to take the situation as a joke," Butch said in Filipino.
"Bigla lang may balita na nakuha ng (There was news that he was rescued by a) fisherman then everybody was happy and laughing, etc. And so of course we had it confirmed and then the authorities said it was unconfirmed,” he said.
He also told of a false story that his brother was found on a side of an island beside a bamboo house, and that he was wearing blue.
The family checked out the story even if it seemed far-fetched.
These stories make it imperative that at least one of them, in this case he, Butch, is hands-on in the search and rescue operations for his brother. And Butch wants more first-hand information, than rumors.
"Mas mabuti na ako (It’s better that it’s me). I never call my relatives in Naga until I'm certain kasi sila naman (so that they are) at least confident sa first-hand information unlike sa iba na para kaming niloloko (with others who seem like they’re trying to fool us),” he said.
source: interaksyon.com