Family hits back at Reyes critics

MANILA, Philippines -  The sons of the late former Armed Forces chief Angelo Reyes hit back at his critics yesterday, calling them “ignorant and envious” and with “nothing better to do than to cowardly criticize him.”

They voiced their sentiments in a statement read yesterday outside the Arlington Ascension Chapels on Araneta Avenue where the wake for Reyes was being held. Reyes shot himself Tuesday before his parents’ graves at the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina.

“To us, his children, he is and will forever be, our idol – and no amount of ridiculous rumors, intrigues and accusations from the ignorant, the envious, and those who have nothing better to do than to cowardly criticize him, will ever change that,” Reyes’ sons Bogie, Jett, Marc, Carlo and Judd said in their statement titled “Angie: the real thing.”

They said the “real Angie” demanded the best from his subordinates but “found contentment in eating corned beef, monggo and sardines.”

“He is the nemesis of kidnappers, drug dealers, smugglers and terrorists but is helpless as his granddaughter puts lipstick on him,” they wrote.

They said that although he was an alumnus of Harvard University, he could “easily mingle with the lowest ranking soldier, policeman or even a barangay tanod.”

Although tagged as “conqueror of Camp Abubakr,” Reyes – according to his sons – never hesitated to kiss them or their mother in public.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo showed up at Reyes’ wake and expressed shock at his sudden death.

“I knew him to be strong willed,” he said.

Also at Reyes’ wake yesterday was former prime minister Cesar Virata. “I could see his potential that’s why I created an office which he headed,” Virata said, referring to the Management Information Office. He said the office gathered information useful to development efforts in the provinces. 

 Saving the AFP

A former Reyes aide, Lt. Col. Edgardo de Leon, said his former boss’ decision to take his own life was his way of saving the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) as an institution.

“Sir Angie had always been for the preservation of the institution,” De Leon said.

De Leon said Reyes had told him that “personal vengeance” was the real motivation behind the Senate investigation.  

“According to him (last week), the current congressional probes, which he believed were meant as a personal vengeance for his EDSA 2 action, have affected the institution. The trial by publicity at the Senate may have drawn a wedge between the officers and rank and file leading to leadership breakdown in the AFP,” said De Leon, now assigned in Mindanao.

“Once, he insinuated that he would even offer his life to save the institution. I never thought that he was that serious,” De Leon said. 

“I believe it pained him most to be accused of using the money that were intended as salary of soldiers, which he never did. On the contrary, he was known in the Army and the AFP as very generous to soldiers, looking after their welfare regardless of rank, regardless of whether you’re a PMAer or not,” he added.

Sen. Gregorio Honasan, himself a former soldier, said the corruption issue must have been too much for Reyes to bear, considering his sterling record in the military.

“I was not the only one who saw it. He was emotional about his reputation being prematurely smeared, and his family being dragged into this,” he said. “My own sense of this is that he reached his threshold when the issue was too close to home.”

Former President Fidel Ramos also said Reyes took his own life in the belief that it could save the institution that he loved so much.

“He, in fact, tried to save the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” Ramos said, referring to Reyes’ suicide.

“This is what we call our caring, our sharing and our daring for others,” the former president said.

Ramos said Filipinos must “remember the contribution” of Reyes to the EDSA 2 people power revolt despite the allegation of corruption against him.

The defection of Reyes, then AFP chief of staff, to EDSA 2 forces spelled doom for then President Joseph Estrada.

Ramos said stamping out corruption in the military and the police should be a concerted effort.

“It will take more than the Senate and the House (of Representatives) to solve that problem. It must come from every soldier and policeman with determined effort and leadership, from no less than the president as the commander-in-chief,” Ramos said.

Former Interior secretary Rafael Alunan also said Reyes’ suicide was aimed at “protecting the interest of others.”

“Civility has to return to the way we conduct things,” Alunan said, referring to congressional inquiries.

Not a cowardly act

To his mistahs in the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), Reyes’ taking his own life was not a cowardly act but a show of courage to preserve his pride and dignity.

“There are some of us who believe that pride and dignity are more valuable than life itself. Angie is one of those who believed in this,” retired Navy commodore Jose Abudelo told The STAR during the wake for the former AFP chief.

“That’s why he had the guts to take away his life. I think that’s not weakness on his part. It’s his special strength,” he added. Abudelo and Reyes belonged to PMA Class 1966.

Retired Army colonel Manuel Espejo, class president, said it was painful that another PMA cadet – Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV – was among those who “embarrassed” Reyes at the Senate investigation.

Espejo and Abudelo said the Senate and the House should have been more civil in conducting their inquiries.

“Every time a classmate dies, a part of us goes with him. Everytime a classmate is insulted, we feel the same way,” Abudelo said.

“Even prisoners of war are treated humanely,” Abudelo added.

“His (Reyes’) death is an eye opener for the Senate and the House to be more dignified in dealing with guests (at their inquiries),” Espejo said.

Espejo recalled he had asked the former defense secretary and military chief if he needed any help from his mistahs after his Senate appearance. But Reyes’ response was “Kaya ko ‘to (I can take it).”

Espejo said they believed Reyes was innocent of the accusations against him.

“The academy has not taught us what they are charging some of our graduates,” Espejo said.

“They (Reyes’ accusers) should have filed a case against him before the Sandiganbayan if there was (any evidence),” he said.

He said Reyes must have really felt despondent that he did not show up for his regular Sunday morning walk with his mistahs at The Fort in Taguig.

“He wasn’t there even if three days ago he told us he would come,” Espejo said.

Espejo recalled that he phoned Reyes to ask him and the latter just told him he had to attend to something.

Catholic burial

Canon Law expert retired archbishop Oscar Cruz said Reyes is still entitled to Catholic burial even if he was a suicide.

He said the Vatican issued decades ago a “pastoral norm” that allowed suicides to receive the last rites from the Church.

Reyes will buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, according to family spokesperson Patricia Daza. The date of burial will be announced later.

“There was a time and it was a long time ago that the Church would not bless the cadaver of anybody who committed suicide, would not allow entrance to the Church and not have a Mass celebrated for him. The Church held on to that observance for decades, but in the past two or three decades the Church came to know and came to be convinced of the findings of updated psychology and psychiatry that those who commit suicide cannot be themselves, meaning that their committing suicide was no longer a free option or a deliberate act,” Cruz said.

Meanwhile, Sen. Francis Escudero said there was no basis to drag the PMA into the corruption scandal, much less call for its abolition.

“That there are a few rotten eggs is no reason to abolish the institution that produced them. No institution is perfect. Otherwise, the same argument can be raised against other educational institutions that produced some bad eggs,” Escudero said.

Former president and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, for her part, denied she called Reyes on his mobile phone shortly before his death as claimed by former Navy commodore Rex Robles.

“That’s not true. I can confidently state that Dr. Arroyo did not speak with secretary Angelo Reyes the day before he died,” Arroyo spokesperson Elena Bautista-Horn told The STAR.

She appealed to Mrs. Arroyo’s detractors not to “create scenarios” out of Reyes’ death.

“Let’s leave his family alone. This is a very difficult time for them,” Bautista-Horn said. With Jaime Laude, Evelyn Macairan