On August 18, 2012 (PHT), the aircraft carrying Robredo crashed off Masbate bay. He was scheduled to attend a political event in Naga City. The Philippine Department of Interior and Local Government said that the pilot sent a distress call to the Masbate airport. The pilot was requesting an emergency landing. The plane never made it to the airport and crashed in the ocean. His body was retrieved three days later, August 21, 800 meters from the shore and 180 feet below sea level.