Another look at the Angie Tragedy

ANOTHER look at the Angie Tragedy.

Angelo “Angie” Reyes had been invited by the Senate as a “resource person” to hopefully shed light on the plea bargain bid of Carlos F. Garcia.

Garcia was the former military comptroller accused of stashing away P303 million in government money while in power.

Since the charge Garcia was facing fell under the plunder category (government funds of P50 million and above deemed stolen constitute plunder), the law puts him behind bars while he is on trial.

Garcia’s plea bargain bid offered the government the chance to recover a huge chunk of the loot.

Nice, huh?

But then, it was a Trojan move.  Meaning, it had an evil intent in that, should it be granted, it would set Garcia free while the case is being heard in court.

The nation saw the mockery of it all and, to the credit of both houses in Congress, the plea bargain had to be scuttled.

In the first place, why make the nation’s dignity and the people’s welfare worth merely a “bargain” for some thugs, if not thieves?

Any suspect/s caught dipping his fingers into public funds must readily be accountable to the people and immediately haled to court.  If convicted, he should suffer the consequences.

But we have laws to follow and a suspect is innocent until proven guilty.

One such suspect is Carlos F. Garcia.

Thus, it was the consensus that Angie’s presence in the Senate might help speed up the case against Garcia.

For the record, the late Angie Reyes was a former CS (Chief of Staff) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.  His post gave him so much latitude and knowledge in the workings within the military.

But, tragically, if not bizarrely, after just one appearance at the Senate hearing, Angie committed suicide with a single shot into his chest using one of his eight handguns.

Many say Angie’s act was the offshoot of insults heaped on Angie from Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Antonio Trillianes IV during the hearing.

One particularly hurting statement hurled at Angie came from Trillianes:  “You have no more reputation to protect.”

You were once the country’s No. 1 military officer besides being once the holder of four Cabinet positions to include the departments of Energy, DENR, DILG and National Defense, and someone – your fellow PMAer at that, and not even a former General – hurling such hurting assault on your person?

Why, it was just too much to take!

And were you not there as a “resource person” and not as one suddenly, seemingly, subjected to trial?

From out of the blue, Jinggoy, like the proverbial magician, pulled out from his sleeve a surprise witness seething with vengeance – retired colonel George Rabusa.

Rabusa had poured it all out against his former boss, Angie, accusing the former CS of receiving P50 million as pabaon when he retired in 1999.

It is worth noting that Rabusa was the former budget officer of Angie when Angie was still CS.

Stunningly, therefore, Rabusa’s stunt veered away from the scheduled plea bargain hearing of Garcia that day.

Scripted it was, and the nation watching the farce on TV saw through it all?

Swept aside that day, brazenly, was the Garcia case and, into its place, was inserted the Angie aches.

In short, the plot was just starting to thicken when the Angie tragedy happened.  Like an unwanted dream, it was a nightmare that, to many, had struck the conscience of a nation.

With his suicide, Angie, 65, took everything to his grave, including whatever was left of his reputation – to borrow Trillanes’ word.

Word of the year.

Back to Homepage

Share your Comments or Reactions

comments

Powered by Facebook Comments