EDITORIAL - Lying in state

As expected, the honors and tributes are now pouring in for the late DILG secretary Jesse Robredo, who died last Saturday along with two others in a plane crash off Masbate. He had just been to Cebu and was flying home to Naga City when the accident happened.

The highest honor he is expected to receive, excluding of course the various honors he got while still alive, is the state funeral which Malacañang has announced would be accorded the well-loved and respected Cabinet member.

State funerals are not for everybody who dies. And to “lie in state” is one of the most commonly mistaken references used to describe the vigils, wakes, and public viewings of people who die.

Not everybody can “lie in state.” According to the Associated Press Stylebook, “only people who are entitled to a state funeral may formally lie in state.” Those so entitled are a president, former president, president-elect, or any person given the honor by the president.

It is not clear if the Philippines has a designated place where a person honored with a state funeral can lie in state. Maybe it is in Malacañang. In the United States, a person who is entitled to a state funeral may lie in state at the rotunda of the United States Capitol.

The AP Stylebook goes on to say that members of the US Congress can lie in state upon the decision of either house. But the process of a state funeral for a Congress member must begin with a formal request by the president.

Those entitled to an official funeral but not to lie in state are the vice president, the chief justice, members of the Cabinet, and other officials of the government when so designated by the president.

In other words, even in death there are certain protocols to be followed and observed and that not everybody, no matter how seemingly important while alive, can claim certain honors that are normally reserved by official tradition and designation.

Beyond the official honors and modes of respect, though, the family of the late Jesse Robredo can take comfort in the fact that, beyond the formal and official, the spontaneous outpouring of both love and grief are enough testaments to perpetuate his beautiful memory.