GENERAL ANGELO REYES TAKES OWN LIFE, HE WAS 65
MANILA, FEBRUARY 9, 2011 (MALAYA) BY VICTOR REYES - Angie Reyes kills self in front of parents' graves. Maligners not welcome at wake, says family.
CAMP Aguinaldo, the military's general headquarters in Quezon City, and other military camps nationwide flew their flags at half mast to mourn the death of former Armed Forces chief Gen. Angelo Reyes.
Camp Aguinaldo flew its flag at half staff hours after Reyes was pronounced dead at 8:32 a.m. by physicians of the Quirino Memorial Medical Center, from apparent suicide.
The military is also preparing full military honors for Reyes "but it is the prerogative of the family if they want to avail," said AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta.
Reyes shot himself in the left chest in front of his parents' tomb at the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina City.
Reyes, 65, served as AFP chief from July 1999 up to March 2001. He belonged to PMA Class '66. He would have turned 66 on March 17.
Under the Arroyo administration, he was also defense, interior, environment, and energy secretary.
President Aquino, who was marking his 51st birthday yesterday, expressed condolences and said he was shocked to learn of Reyes' death and the manner by which he died.
Reyes' family asked to be allowed "the privacy to understand and find meaning in this tragedy."
"Words do not do justice to what we are feeling right now. Words, after all, contributed vastly to our having lost our beloved Angie. Nonetheless, we find comfort in the outpouring of sympathies and prayers for our father," the family said in a statement.
Reyes' remains lie in state at the Arlington chapels on Araneta avenue in Quezon City.
Reyes' former information officer, Patricia Daza, said those who "maligned, belittled, and humiliated" Reyes were not welcome at the wake, making specific reference to the partylist group 1-Utak and "military people who fabricated lies" against Reyes.
Reyes was the first nominee of the party list group in the May 2010 elections but was disqualified by the Comelec en banc last September after the commission ruled that Reyes does not truly represent 1-Utak. A case is pending with the Supreme Court.
Daza also said Reyes was only "dragged into the controversy" on fund anomalies at the Armed Forces. "There were five other chiefs of staff. He was singled out," she said.
Two weeks ago, Reyes was implicated in fund anomalies in the Armed Forces by a former military budget officer who spoke at a Senate inquiry into a plea bargaining agreement that allowed a general to walk on a plunder charge.
Reyes did not show up for the continuation of the Senate inquiry last Monday.
He was supposed to appear at a House inquiry yesterday but had asked to be excused. The House continued proceeded with its hearing despite a motion to defer it in deference to Reyes' death. House members said the inquiry was into the plea bargaining agreement and not the fund anomalies at the Armed Forces.
In a letter to the House justice committee, Reyes said there was no reason for him to attend the hearing because he has nothing to do with the agreement.
The House also terminated its inquiry yesterday.
The Senate, in deference to Reyes' death, moved its hearing to Friday next week. The Senate had been scheduled to resume its inquiry tomorrow.
Former military budget officer Lt. Col. George Rabusa, who told the Senate that Reyes received about P100 million in send-off money aside from P10 million a month while AFP chief, said he was saddened over the death of one he considers like a family member.
"Halos tinuring ko pong parang matandang kapatid nung araw," said Rabusa of Reyes.
"Wala akong magagawa dahil nagsabi lang ako ng totoo. Ako po ang nalulungkot dito sa pangyayaring ito na dapat e hindi humantong dito…Siguro iisipin ng mga karamihan ng tao na ako ang naging dahilan sa kanyang pagkakamatay pero ipinaglalaban ko lang naman po yung katotohanan, kaya sana po ay wag naman akong sisihin halimbawa dito sa pangyayaring ito," he said.
Mabanta said the officers and men of the Armed Forces and its civilian employees were "shocked and saddened" by Reyes' death.
"We usually do that to mourn," said Mabanta, adding the military flags will remain at half mast until Reyes is buried.
Mabanta said the military never expected Reyes to commit suicide as they knew him as a "strong" type of man.
"He was after the morale of the common soldier so this is certainly a very sad day for the Armed Forces but certainly, the Armed Forces will move forward."
"He was a good soldier. He may have been misunderstood at times but he was able to perform what was required of him," Mabanta also said.
Reyes' PMA classmate, retired Air Force Col. Manuel Espejo, said the class would not believe the allegations of corruption hurled against Reyes "unless proven in court."
Espejo speculated on the reason Reyes claimed his life.
"Possibly, he wants to spare the hierarchy of the AFP. How will it look if a commander is not followed by his soldiers (because of the allegations of corruption)?" he said.
"They are like headless chickens. That's the implication of this (continuing allegations of corruption). That might be the reason but that's speculative because we don't know what's in his head…In Japan, there is hara-kiri to save the organization," said Espejo.
PNP chief Raul Bacalzo, who also expressed condolences on behalf of the police organization, said that based on initial investigation, "the gunshot wound that took the life of the late secretary appears to have been self-inflicted."
He said based on reports from the Marikina police, Reyes visited the graves of his parents Pablo Paralejas Reyes and Purificacion Tomas Reyes at the Garden of Prayer at the Loyola Memorial Park in Barangay Tanong, Marikina City at 7:30 a.m., accompanied by two of his five sons and at least three close-in security personnel on board a black Nissan car (WHD-757).
Memorial park maintenance contractor Feliciano Recorba said he saw Reyes and his two children arrive at the memorial park at around 7 a.m. and that they went to the grave of his mother.
Shortly thereafter, he said he saw Reyes' children and bodyguards go to their vehicle, leaving Reyes alone.
Then he saw Reyes pointing a gun towards his chest and heard a gunshot.
Recorba said he was among those who helped carry Reyes to their vehicle.
Another witness, a certain Magsanoc, claimed to have also witnessed the incident.
Magsanoc said he saw Reyes, his children, and a bodyguard arrive at the park at around 7 a.m.
Although he did not see Reyes shoot himself, he said he heard a gunshot and saw Reyes slumping slowly to the ground.
Magsanoc claimed he saw the gun that Reyes used, which looked like a .45 caliber pistol.
Other workers in the cemetery said Reyes also left a hardbound book titled "The Art of the Deal" written by billionaire Donald Trump.
Reyes was brought to the Quirino Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City, but physicians said Reyes had no vital signs when he arrived there at 7:45 a.m.
In a press briefing at the QMMC, Health Secretary Enrique Ona said Reyes was dead on arrival at the hospital.
"When he arrived here at the hospital, there was no blood pressure… The body is already what you call as cold and clammy. There was even no pulse and he was not breathing," Ona said.
"However, the doctors still tried to resuscitate him but to no avail," he added.
He said doctors gave him oxygen, continuous chest compression or external cardiac massage, and administered medicine to boost the blood pressure but all these proved futile.
"After 45 minutes of attempts to resuscitate him, he was declared dead at 8:32 a.m.," Ona said.
He said Reyes had one gunshot wound in his left chest, which exited at the back on the left side, and that it likely hit his heart.
However, Ona refused to categorically say that Reyes committed suicide.
He said only autopsy will show what happened, the type of gun Reyes had used, and the internal damage that his body sustained.
Former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo and former Arroyo Cabinet secretary Michael Defensor went to the QMMC hospital but did not give any statement to the media.
'SACRIFICE'
Reyes' PMA classmates said he was a "righteous" and a "straightforward" man.
Espejo said Reyes was supposed to attend a regular class gathering at The Fort in Taguig last Sunday. He said the class usually goes to such gatherings where "we laugh our problems away."
He said Reyes previously promised to attend the gathering but was a no-show.
Another classmate of Reyes, retired Commodore Jose Agudelo, said: "There are some of us who value pride and dignity more than life itself. Perhaps, he's one of those who value pride and dignity more than life itself."
Agudelo said Reyes probably found out that if the allegations of corruption in the AFP continue, "this would degrade the AFP, it would be like being eaten by termites. Maybe he sacrificed himself."
Another class member, retired Brig. Gen Fred Bautista, criticized how Reyes was projected in public to be already guilty of the crimes hurled against him.
"Angie was a victim of the concept of democracy and justice wrongly applied. It appears he was being judged guilty even before he was tried. The way questions are asked, the way media writes the stories. You are supposed to be innocent unless proven guilty," he said.
Bautista despised how questions were asked by some biased lawmakers. "I hope what happened to him (Reyes) will serve as a lesson to our political leaders to respect human rights," he said.
'MISUNDERSTOOD'
Col. Edgardo de Leon, detailed with the Army's 10th Infantry Division, said Reyes is an "honest person." De Leon served as an administrative officer of Reyes while he was the AFP chief and DND secretary, and DILG head executive assistant while Reyes was interior secretary.
De Leon gave his own theory why Reyes committed suicide. "His reason maybe is he does not want the AFP to collapse. He loves the AFP. When he was already a civilian and he sees us, he always asks how's the AFP," said De Leon.
WORRIED
Retired Navy commodore Rex Robles said Reyes called him over the phone around 1 p.m. Monday, and Reyes sounded worried.
Robles (PMA Class `65) and Reyes were squad mates at the PMA.
Robles said Reyes told him Arroyo called him (Reyes) up. He also inquired about Paranaque Rep. Roilo Golez, a retired Navy captain who called for the House probe.
"Tinawagan niya ako para sabihin sa akin na si GMA tumawag sa kanya para itanong, si GMA nagtanong kung sino ang classmate ni (Sen. Antonio) Trillanes," said Robles, referring to Trillanes' classmate who was recently sent by Reyes to deliver his letter to Trillanes.
In that letter, Reyes asked Trillanes to name the protector of Garcia. Robles quoted Trillanes as telling his PMA classmate who delivered Reyes' letter that Reyes was not the powerful protector of Garcia.
"Parang conspiratorial yung tono nya. 'Pare tumawag si GMA,' he sounded worried," said Robles, quoting Reyes.
Robles criticized the media for sensationalizing the corruption allegation against Reyes. He said it was merely a side issue to the plea bargain.
TRIAL BY PUBLICITY
Sen. Gregorio Honasan, a former military colonel, said there is a need to moderate future investigations on scandals in government to prevent "trial by publicity."
Honasan said that while an "informed citizenry is essential to a functioning democracy," it is the duty of legislators "to moderate our proceedings from hereon and manage public information in this regard so that premature and unwarranted trial by publicity of any person or institution shall be avoided."
Trillanes, who clashed with Reyes during the first Senate investigation on AFP fund mess last January 27, said he and other soldiers involved in Manila Peninsula siege were subjected to "worst trial by publicity."
Trillanes also said he sympathizes with the family and friends of Reyes but he would not feel sorry about the way he treated Reyes during Senate proceedings.
"I'm the kind of person who learns from lessons of life. We would have wished or preferred that things ended on a more pleasant note, but that's just how life was meant to be for all of us," Trillanes said.
Trillanes, a former Navy lieutenant, recently named Reyes as the "powerful person" behind Garcia. Trillanes was a leader of the 2003 Oakwood mutiny which among others, called for Reyes' ouster.
Senate pro tempore Jinggoy Estrada said he is not to blame for Reyes' death.
He said he was just doing his job when he delivered a privileged speech implicating Reyes in the Garcia plunder case.
"I'm not guilty. I'm just doing my job," Estrada said.
After his stint with the DND, Reyes was named as chief of the National Anti-Crime Task Force. – With Angela Lopez de Leon, Raymond Africa, Jocelyn Montemayor, JP Lopez, Wendell Vigilia, Gerard Naval and Evangeline de Vera
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