Ex-military chief may have killed himself
Source: Agencies |
February 9, 2011, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A FORMER military chief in the Philippines apparently committed suicide yesterday at his mother's grave in a dramatic twist to a scandal over accusations that top generals skimmed money from the army to fund a lavish lifestyle.
Retired General Angelo Reyes, 65, was pronounced dead on arrival at a Manila hospital from a single gunshot wound in the chest after visiting the grave, Health Secretary Enrique Ona said in a news conference broadcast nationwide.
Reyes, who headed the military from 2001 to 2003, was at the center of a Congressional probe into one of the biggest corruption scandals to have hit the Philippine armed forces.
Corruption, entrenched in the Philippine society, is an especially sensitive issue in the inadequately equipped and poorly paid 120,000-strong military that has sparked several insurrections in the last two decades by disgruntled soldiers.
Witnesses interviewed by DZBB radio station at the cemetery said they saw Reyes send his children to his car before a single shot rang out.
Health Secretary Ona refused to immediately confirm that Reyes had committed suicide, saying he was awaiting autopsy results.
The powerful military expressed shock at Reyes' death, flying flags at half-staff in camps nationwide and urging Congress to expedite its probe into military corruption. President Benigno Aquino III, elected last year on the promise to prosecute corrupt officials, sent his condolences while his predecessor praised Reyes as a good soldier.
In startling testimony last month, retired military budget officer Lieutenant Colonel George Rabusa claimed that huge amounts had been diverted from key military units into a kitty for all kinds of illegal payoffs.
Among the recipients of the unaudited payoffs, Rabusa said, were three ex-military chiefs of staff who each month collected millions of pesos (tens of thousands of dollars) for personal use plus huge "send-off" payments when they retired.
Rabusa alleged that Reyes was among the recipients of the payoffs, including more than US$1 million when he stepped down that had to be converted into dollars because the peso equivalent was too bulky.
A stunned Reyes at the time denied pocketing funds but also declared "I'm not a saint." He later filed graft charges against Rabusa and a senator, who he accused of conspiring to malign him.
Emotions ran high when Reyes tried to confront Rabusa at the January 27 hearing but was restrained by senators, including Antonio Trillanes IV, a former navy officer who was detained for more than seven years for alleged involvement in failed coups against former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Reyes was among Arroyo's most loyal backers.
Retired General Angelo Reyes, 65, was pronounced dead on arrival at a Manila hospital from a single gunshot wound in the chest after visiting the grave, Health Secretary Enrique Ona said in a news conference broadcast nationwide.
Reyes, who headed the military from 2001 to 2003, was at the center of a Congressional probe into one of the biggest corruption scandals to have hit the Philippine armed forces.
Corruption, entrenched in the Philippine society, is an especially sensitive issue in the inadequately equipped and poorly paid 120,000-strong military that has sparked several insurrections in the last two decades by disgruntled soldiers.
Witnesses interviewed by DZBB radio station at the cemetery said they saw Reyes send his children to his car before a single shot rang out.
Health Secretary Ona refused to immediately confirm that Reyes had committed suicide, saying he was awaiting autopsy results.
The powerful military expressed shock at Reyes' death, flying flags at half-staff in camps nationwide and urging Congress to expedite its probe into military corruption. President Benigno Aquino III, elected last year on the promise to prosecute corrupt officials, sent his condolences while his predecessor praised Reyes as a good soldier.
In startling testimony last month, retired military budget officer Lieutenant Colonel George Rabusa claimed that huge amounts had been diverted from key military units into a kitty for all kinds of illegal payoffs.
Among the recipients of the unaudited payoffs, Rabusa said, were three ex-military chiefs of staff who each month collected millions of pesos (tens of thousands of dollars) for personal use plus huge "send-off" payments when they retired.
Rabusa alleged that Reyes was among the recipients of the payoffs, including more than US$1 million when he stepped down that had to be converted into dollars because the peso equivalent was too bulky.
A stunned Reyes at the time denied pocketing funds but also declared "I'm not a saint." He later filed graft charges against Rabusa and a senator, who he accused of conspiring to malign him.
Emotions ran high when Reyes tried to confront Rabusa at the January 27 hearing but was restrained by senators, including Antonio Trillanes IV, a former navy officer who was detained for more than seven years for alleged involvement in failed coups against former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Reyes was among Arroyo's most loyal backers.
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