Arroyo hails Reyes for ‘courage, patriotic service’

MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE) Former president and Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo hailed former Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes for his “courage and patriotic service” as she condoled with his family over the untimely death.

“We join the family, friends and colleagues of Secretary Angelo Reyes in mourning his tragic passing. … We pray for the repose of his soul, and call on our people to remember above all his courage and patriotic service,” Arroyo said through her spokesperson Elena Horn-Bautista.

Arroyo said Reyes “served his country well in uniform and in the halls of government, particularly at a critical moment in our history when our people called for radical reform of governance, an extraordinary time that demanded extraordinary measures.”

Arroyo personally went to see Reyes at the Quirino Memorial Medical Center where he was brought after reportedly shooting himself.

In separate text messages, former colleagues of Reyes in the Arroyo Cabinet expressed sympathy to his family over his death.

Bohol Representative and former Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said Reyes was not only a colleague in government service, but a family friend.

"Manong Angie [Reyes] saw me grow up playing tennis with his kids. He was a friend of my father. We continue to be in shock over what has happened and find it difficult to say much at this point except that we will sorely miss him,” Yap said.

Former presidential legislative liaison office head Jake Lagonera also expressed shock over the incident.

“Angie was a friend. I knew him as a good and honorable man. We worked together and I always found him to be a gentleman. He will be missed,” he said.

Former Public Works Secretary Vic Domingo remembered Reyes as a man who deeply cared for the environment.

“I remember working with Secretary Reyes on the reforestation of the denuded mountains around Catbalogan [Samar] while I was presidential assistant for Eastern Visayas. He was a man who cared deeply for the environment ,” Domingo said.

Reyes served as chief of staff, defense secretary, local government secretary and energy secretary during the nine-year administration of Arroyo from 2001 to 2010. He played a large role in catapulting Arroyo to power when, as Armed Forces chief, he led the military in ousting then president Joseph Estrada in a second “people power revolt.” (report from Lira Dalangin-Fernandez, Inquirer.net)