Philippine Army's 3rd ID mourns Reyes's death

ILOILO CITY, Philippines  — "The officers, EP (enlisted personnel), and civilian employees of the (Phil. Army) 3rd Infantry Division join the bereaved members of (Angelo Reyes) family as we mourn his sudden demise," said a statement of the division released yesterday.

While it condemns corruption in government, the 3rd ID said it is saddened by the news that former defense secretary and AFP chief of staff Reyes was reported to have taken his own life yesterday.

Major Gen. Vicente Porto, commander of the 3rd ID, said: "The ongoing Senate hearings about corruption in the AFP have already claimed the life of former secretary Reyes. We hope it will not affect the image of the AFP itself as an institution."

3rd ID spokesman 1Lt. Mark Andrew Posadas, for his part, said the majority, if not all, of the soldiers in the 3ID are not affected by the proceedings covered live on TV and radio. 

"We will not allow these events to unwittingly destroy the morale of our soldiers on the ground who are trying to preserve democracy and our government," said Posadas, adding that unit commanders are continuously enlightening all troops about the positive effects of the investigations. 

"Much more, we will never allow insurgency to be the eventual beneficiary in all of these, as the CPP-NPA-NDF eagerly await by the sidelines for the collapse of the AFP as an institution," Posadas said.

Posadas said, "We (soldiers) will remain committed and continue to perform their mandated tasks of protecting the citizens we have pledged to protect."

The AFP has been exerting considerable efforts to reform and cleanse its systems, he said. "As most cases against these generals have already been filed in courts, we will let the law take its due course and eagerly await its early resolution," Posadas said. (FREEMAN)