Thousands mourn as Aguinaldo is laid to rest

TUGUEGARAO CITY – He once complained to his wife that nobody loved him anymore. But yesterday, slain Cagayan Rep. Rodolfo Aguinaldo would have had no reason to complain.

Under the searing heat of the sun, thousands of people lined the streets waiting to take a last glimpse of their leader who was gunned down by communist assassins Tuesday night.

The Santo Niño Church was jampacked as thousands more attended the Mass where Aguinaldo received the last rites from Tuguegarao Archbishop Diosdado Talamayan.

"Daddy, wake up. They’re all here," cried Aguinaldo’s wife Lerma over the lawmaker’s remains. "You said nobody loves you anymore, that all your friends have deserted you. But they are here. They still love you, don’t you see?"

Aguinaldo’s friends and foes paid their last respects to him, the man they described as probably the most colorful leader to ever rise in Cagayan, a province on the north of the country’s main island of Luzon.

"He is unforgettable," said his colleague Carlos Padilla, deputy speaker of the House of Representatives. "He will be missed sorely for all his good qualities as well his bad."

Aguinaldo, or "Agui" to many, ironically was not born in this province. He was a native of Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte who went to the Philippine Military Academy as a youth, graduating in 1972, a year behind now senators Gregorio Honasan and Panfilo Lacson.

He began carving a spot in the hearts of Cagayanos when he was assigned assistant provincial commander of the now defunct Philippine Constabulary in 1981.

He was viewed as a "liberator" by many, especially the poor, who saw him as the one who would free them from the bondage of poverty and long-time government neglect.

Thus it was no surprise that he got elected in his first try in politics, putting an end to the dynasty of the once-unbeatable political clans of the Dupayas, Vargases and the Tuzons in the province. He served for nine consecutive years as governor, and later for three years as congressman.

He lost, however, in the last elections to ‘comebacking’ lawmaker Manuel Mamba. His wife said Aguinaldo felt his world crumble with the loss, that he was forced to go on a hiatus in the coastal town of Pagudpud in his home province of Ilocos Norte for weeks.

But while most of his constituents revered him, still many denounced him and viewed him as evil. His assassins were among these people.

The communist New People’s Army (NPA) claimed Aguinaldo deserved to die for violating human rights during his days as a Philippine Constabulary colonel under dictator Ferdinand Marcos and his nine years as Cagayan governor.

Three NPA gunmen swooped down on him and his policeman- bodyguard in front of his rented apartment. They shot him with automatic weapons in the nape, in left arm and in the back and he died 30 minutes after being rushed to the St. Paul Hospital here.

The NPA’s Fortunato Camus Command said Aguinaldo had "committed crimes against the Filipino people."

Most Cagayanos don’t readily believe this charge, though.

Dalia, a vendor selling bottled water, said she would always remember Aguinaldo as a very caring leader whom she voted for since he entered politics.

"Nasingpet ni apo Agui. Awan ti gapuna no apay pinatayda (Our leader Agui is a very kind paerson. There is no reason for anyone to kill him)," she said.