February 8, 2011 - Retired General Angelo Reyes committed suicide in front of his mother's grave, and died at the age of 65. Reyes, along with other high ranking officials, was alleged by former military fund manager Lt. Col. George Rabusa and former auditor of Commission on Audit (COA) Heide Mendoza, for bribery involving military funds, lavishly spending the money together with his family while on service with the government. The allegation is not just talking about hundreds of thousands of pesos, but hundreds of millions of pesos. It was known that Reyes received send-off money which is commonly known as "pabaon" in the military circle, the practice of giving cash to retiring military officers, amounting to millions of pesos. He was scheduled on this day to appear before the senate investigation but informed the lawmakers through a letter that he would not be able to do so.
Reyes has done remarkable achievements to the government from different administrations, which include the EDSA Dos where he pulled out the army's support from former President Joseph Estrada when he was impeached and subsequently departed from office, which brought the presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who was then the Vice-President. He was Estrada's former AFP chief of staff. He was appointed as secretary of National Defense and secretary of DILG under Arroyo's administration.
The allegation is a very big shame not just to the military circle but to the Philippines as a religious nation. Reyes strongly denied the allegation and expressed his sentiments about the involvement of his family to this shameful accusation. Now that one of the main culprits killed himself in the midst of serious issues, people tend to question his action. Was it because of shame or guilt? Was it because he was holding the truth and can not afford to divulge that would greatly affect some big names in the Philippine politics?
