AFP BIDS FAREWELL TO ANGIE WITH 21 GUN SALUTE; SONS' FINAL SALUTE
MANILA, FEBRUARY 14, 2011 (STAR) By Alexis Romero [ PHOTO - TAPS: The casket of former Armed Forces chief Angelo Reyes is brought to his final resting place at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig yesterday. EDD GUMBAN]
MANILA, Philippines - Former Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Angelo Tomas Reyes was buried yesterday as his sons paid tribute, saying he was a public servant who performed his duties well despite "a flawed system."
Reyes, who committed suicide at the height of a Senate investigation on corruption in the AFP, was finally laid to rest at the Libingan ng mga Bayani yesterday with full military honors befitting a former chief of staff and Defense secretary.
Military pallbearers brought his flag-draped coffin to his tomb as his widow and sons - all dressed in white - wept and dropped petals on his casket. The mourners were led by former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, whom Reyes served loyally through four failed military uprisings.
Reyes' classmates in the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class '66, top defense and military officials led by Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and AFP chief Gen. Ricardo David joined others who paid their last respects. Crowd estimate was at 1,500.
The casket was welcomed by a 19-round salvo fired from Army howitzers as it entered the compound of the cemetery at about 11:30 a.m., from the AFP general headquarters at Fort Bonifacio.
An Air Force helicopter hovering above the procession showered the mourners with flower petals.
At exactly 12 noon, after Catholic burial rites and final viewing by close family members were done, Reyes' casket was lowered to the grave with soldiers firing the 21-gun salute and taps were played in his honor.
After the burial, active and retired military leaders led by David, Army chief Arturo Ortiz, Air Force chief Oscar Rabena and Navy chief Rear Admiral Alexander Pama, sang the PMA alma mater hymn.
Final salute
During necrological rites last Saturday, Marc, the late general's third son, asked David to allow them to honor their father using the military gesture.
"With the permission of the AFP chief of staff, sir, we are not cavaliers but I would like to request that you allow me and my brothers to render a final salute to my dad," he said.
Marc then called on his brothers Bogie, Jett, Carlo, and Judd to approach the coffin of their father, who served as AFP chief for 20 months.
The children simultaneously saluted in front of Reyes' casket, drawing applause from the audience. The brothers, joined by their mother Teresita and uncle Lito, then hugged each other as they burst into tears.
Despite the accusations thrown at their father, Marc said he is proud to be the son of Reyes.
He said his father was an honest public official who tried to do his work and share his expertise "in an environment that is more often than not harsh to him."
"The honest Filipino public official will always find himself alone in many situations because the environment he is in is kinder to those who will just go with the flow," he said.
"The honest Filipino public official is aware that the system he is in is flawed and yet the honest Filipino public official still tries and never loses faith. Sometimes he succeeds but for as long as the rest of the elements do not allow him to succeed, he won't."
Marc also thanked those who condoled with their family and those who respected their privacy.
Remembering Angie
The necrological service was not without light moments.
Former Metro Manila Development Authority chairman Bayani Fernando and former Interior secretary Joey Lina entertained the audience with song numbers that reminded them of the life of the former Cabinet official.
Reyes, Fernando, and Lina were members of the so-called Three Tenors, who performed concerts to raise funds for charity. Together they staged 10 concerts.
Lina belted the classic ballad "You'll Never Walk Alone" while Fernando sang the Frank Sinatra hit "My Way."
Lina said Reyes was their "valedictorian" since he would be the first to volunteer to sing when a pianist was around. He recalled that musicians were very scared of Reyes since he acted like a military man even when singing.
The remaining members of the Three Tenors capped their performance by singing "You Will Be My Music" and Reyes' favorite song "What A Wonderful World."
Lt. Col. Edgardo de Leon, former administrative assistant of Reyes, said the late general was a perfectionist.
De Leon, now operations chief of the Davao-based 10th Infantry Division, said Reyes would even ask ranking officers why their metal accessories lacked polishing.
De Leon believed that the general's decision to end his life was an act of sacrifice to preserve the AFP's integrity.
Rene Azurin, Reyes' friend and professor at the University of the Philippines, said the former AFP chief "lived by a warrior code and thus valued honor, loyalty, duty, and rectitude above all else."
"Angelo Reyes is one of the country's most accomplished soldiers. That such a multi-awarded, multi-decorated soldier would express such frustration at political life in this country has certain, rather profound implications," he said in a statement read by his son Mikah.
Robles: GMA called Reyes
But not everyone joined the lights moments in the necrological service.
Retired Navy commodore Rex Robles lambasted the Senate hearing that invited Reyes as a resource person then called on the AFP to close ranks and resist any attempt to weaken the organization.
A senior of Reyes at the PMA, Robles said that the mounting controversies hounding the AFP pushed the former defense and military chief to take his own life.
He said there appears to be a deliberate effort from some vested groups to weaken the organization.
"The AFP has the only coercive power in this government. You must resist any attempt to weaken the organization. I am not saying that you do something (illegal)," Robles told the assembled military officers.
Recalling his last meeting and telephone conversations with Reyes, Robles said he sensed that the former defense chief felt alone and abandoned following his bout with the senators who grilled him on the "pabaon" system in the AFP as alleged by his former budget officer ex-Lt. Col. George Rabusa.
He said Reyes told him on Monday last week, that Arroyo called up and asked why he was banging heads with Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez.
The following day, Reyes shot himself while visiting his parents' grave at the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina City. He died from a lone gunshot wound to the chest.
Robles said Reyes was a victim of a non-working judicial system in the country that does not protect the law.
"Angie was a victim of democracy and justice wrongly applied," he said.
Robles also marveled why the supposed Senate inquiry on the plea bargain deal struck with the Office of the Ombudsman by former AFP comptroller and dismissed Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia, shifted to the corruption hearing with Reyes, a resource person, becoming the main target.
"Imagine from the plea bargain to corruption hearing," Robles said, adding there appeared a pattern to make use of the Senate inquiry to cover for Garcia and publicly humiliate Reyes instead.
He said he is almost sure that Garcia, after the plea bargain, will go scot-free with millions amassed from the AFP coffers.
De Leon, on the other hand, said accusations that Reyes pocketed millions of funds intended for the soldiers as alleged by Rabusa were untrue.
Unknown to many, De Leon said, Reyes personally recommended to then President Estrada to give a monthly rice allowance to soldiers deployed in combat zones in Mindanao, salary increases of soldiers, insurance benefits and raising of the monthly stipend of Medal of Valor awardees from P2,000 to P20,000.
"Yet, sadly, despite all these, he was subjected to trial by publicity," he said.
All eyes on Trillanes
Meanwhile, PMAers are reportedly disgusted at the way Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV treated an upperclassman during the Senate investigation.
Over the weekend, text messages criticizing Trillanes' alleged "uncavalier" act were circulated among some PMA graduates.
"Let us not forget the uncavalier act of Antonio Trillanes that humiliated and shamed Cav. Angie Reyes in public," the text message read. "When the proper time comes, let every cavalier judge Antonio Trillanes and put him where he rightfully belongs. The time of reckoning is about to come," it added.
Another message allegedly sent by PMAers to fellow cavaliers reads: "Trillanes talks about honor and reputation! He cannot even explain to other Magdalo how much money was used to purchase the armaments and equipment they used in Oakwood. Who was his financier and how come the Navy he recruited were paid higher than the Army? He cannot even mention in public that his mom is the supplier in the AFP and he thinks he is honorable?"
Trillanes was unavailable for comment but in previous interviews, he showed no remorse over his confrontation with Reyes.
He said he was treated worst at the Senate during the hearings on the Oakwood mutiny. Trillanes said it was unfortunate that this was the fate that befell the former AFP chief, but later backtracked on his earlier statement that Reyes was the "powerful person" behind Garcia.
In another interview, Ramon "Mon-Mon" Mitra, a bemedalled former Marine captain and son of the late Speaker Ramon Mitra Jr., expressed belief that Reyes could have been treated fairly by a fellow PMA graduate during the Senate hearing.
"As a PMAer, I believed Gen. Angelo Tomas Reyes should have been treated better. Even Cavaliers (Panfilo) Lacson and (Gregorio) Honasan have acted in the proper decorum expected of upperclassmen to a senior," said Mitra, a classmate of De Leon at the PMA Class of 1988.
De Leon said it is now up to the public to judge Trillanes' demeanor in the Jan. 27 hearing.
The senator prevented Reyes from defending himself during that Senate hearing because according to him, the late AFP chief "had no reputation to protect."
The conjecture apparently hurt Reyes so much that he said in a press conference the next day that he did not expect to receive such shabby treatment from a lower classman at the PMA. - With Christina Mendez, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Jaime Laude, Aie Balagtas See, AP
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