Ex-minister dies in apparent suicide

Angelo Reyes

A former Philippine defence minister and military chief died yesterday in an apparent suicide at the grave of his parents, weeks after being accused of corruption.
Angelo Reyes, 65, died from a gunshot wound to the chest, said Health Secretary Enrique Ona, who rushed to the hospital where Reyes was brought.
Ona said Reyes was visiting the grave of his parents in a private cemetery with two of his five sons and two aides when the shooting happened.
A caretaker at the cemetery said Reyes shot himself after asking his companions to leave him alone at the grave and wait for him in the car.
"I then heard a loud gunshot,” the caretaker told a local radio station. "I ran toward him, and his sons and aides also ran toward him. We found him slumped on his mother’s grave.”
Reyes was accused of receiving a P50mn ($1.14mn) payout after his term as head of the military.
He denied the allegation, which was revealed by a former military budget officer who told a Senate inquiry that the payment was a "send-off gift” for Reyes’ retirement and that Reyes’ wife and children also received huge illegal allowances.
Reyes was invited to attend a separate inquiry at the House of Representatives yesterday, but he declined to testify before the committee.
Brigadier General Jose Mabanta, a military spokesman, said Reyes’ death was a "big blow” to the ongoing investigation into alleged corruption in the armed forces.
"We hope that Congress can expedite these proceedings to ensure immediate reenactment of laws in furtherance of good governance measures for the whole armed forces,” he said.
 Retired Lieutenant Colonel George Rabusa, the former military budget officer who exposed the illegal payouts to Reyes and other armed forces chiefs, expressed his condolences.
"I am shocked that my former boss is now dead,” he said. "I am very sad because I was very close to him and his family.”
Reyes was chief of the armed forces when corruption-tainted former president Joseph Estrada was ousted by a military-backed mass uprising in 2001.
He then became minister of defence, local government, environment and energy during the administration of former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who herself has also been accused of corruption.