As unfortunate as this incident is, it may have hit the President and Roxas close to home. Aircraft maintenance tracking/airworthiness, and pilot standards/CAAP oversight are the last two big issues holding up Cat 1 from what I have heard. Well besides the reports of being able to buy a licence.... I have read a few conflicting reports, most say the plane was on it's way to Naga, the other one said it could not get into Naga and was returning to Cebu when it experienced mechanical difficulty.
No doubt Capt Bahinting was a fine pilot, but what was he thinking flying a high profile Government Official with a student pilot.....I don't think this is even legal in the PH. I may be wrong but I thought the PH required two pilots for multi-engine commercial operations. Light twins are the worst place to be alone in an emergency. I am not saying the student pilot had anything to do with the crash but a qualified co-pilot could have made a difference. Hopefully recovery of the aircraft and the survivors account will answer what happened.
I also question the decision of the president and staff to all fly down together.......if something would have happened half the government would be gone.....