A late breaking news from Cynthia Balana of the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that former Armed Forces Chief and Defense Secretary Angelo Tomas Reyes committed suicide by shooting himself in front of the grave of his mother at the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina City early this morning (8 February 2011).
A close friend of Reyes called the Philippine Daily Inquirer to break the news, while Colonel Boogie De Leon, a former administrative officer of Reyes when he was AFP chief, said Reyes was rushed to the Quirino Hospital at about 7:45 A.M. to revive him. Members of his family could not be reached for comment.
The report was also confirmed by Reyes' lawyer Bonifacio Alentajan when he said the incident happened at the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina City, where Reyes reportedly visited the tomb of his mother.
"Dinala siya sa Quirino Hospital na may tama sa chest. Inaantabayanan pa, they are trying to revive him (He was rushed to the Quirino Memorial Medical Center with a wound in the chest. Doctors are trying to revive him)," Alentajan said in an interview on dzBB radio.
Reyes, who earlier suffered a mild stroke before the congressional investigations on the alleged AFP financial irregularities, said he could not take anymore the smear campaign against his name and his family.
Reyes, a graduate of Philippine Military Academy Class ’66, was AFP chief under President Joseph Estrada, and secretary of defense, interior and local government, and energy during the term of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from 2001 to 2003. He graduated as the class valedictorian in high school and was among the top ten graduates of the PMA.
A close friend of Reyes called the Philippine Daily Inquirer to break the news, while Colonel Boogie De Leon, a former administrative officer of Reyes when he was AFP chief, said Reyes was rushed to the Quirino Hospital at about 7:45 A.M. to revive him. Members of his family could not be reached for comment.
The report was also confirmed by Reyes' lawyer Bonifacio Alentajan when he said the incident happened at the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina City, where Reyes reportedly visited the tomb of his mother.
"Dinala siya sa Quirino Hospital na may tama sa chest. Inaantabayanan pa, they are trying to revive him (He was rushed to the Quirino Memorial Medical Center with a wound in the chest. Doctors are trying to revive him)," Alentajan said in an interview on dzBB radio.
Reyes, who earlier suffered a mild stroke before the congressional investigations on the alleged AFP financial irregularities, said he could not take anymore the smear campaign against his name and his family.
Reyes, a graduate of Philippine Military Academy Class ’66, was AFP chief under President Joseph Estrada, and secretary of defense, interior and local government, and energy during the term of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from 2001 to 2003. He graduated as the class valedictorian in high school and was among the top ten graduates of the PMA.