Secretary Remonde laid to rest with 21-gun salute

(Updated 11:48 p.m.) The late Press Secretary Cerge Remonde received a 21-gun salute and a designation as lieutenant colonel in the military's reserve forces before he was laid to rest in his hometown of Argao in Cebu province on Sunday. Marit Sinut-Remonde, widow of the late press secretary; Hemres Alburo, his brother; and radio commentator and senatorial aspirant Rey Langit led the closing of the coffin and its laying in the niche at the Mamites Family Mausoleum at the Argao Municipal Cemetery. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Vice President Manuel "Noli" de Castro, Trade secretary Peter Favila, Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano, former deputy spokesperson and presidential adviser for Central Luzon Lorelei Fajardo, Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia. were in attendance in the funeral. Remonde, who died of a heart attack last Tuesday at the age of 51. The Requiem Mass was celebrated by Monsignor Cris Garcia at the St. Michael Parish.
"We will surely miss you" and "We love you Cerge," read streamers placed along streets in Argao. Remonde's remains were flown to Cebu last Friday, January 22. In her eulogy, Sinut-Remonde in her eulogy at the necrological service reiterated her gratitude for all the well-wishers and expressions of support. She said it is sad to let her husband go, but she knows that his memory will live on especially with the many lives that he touched. Alburo, in his eulogy, said he never realized how well loved his brother was until he saw how many people sympathized with them and mourned his loss from the wake at the Heritage Memorial Park in Taguig to the wake at the Malacanan Palace in Manila and the Malacanang sa Sugbu in Cebu City and at the Diosdado Macapagal Sports Center in Argao. "Even if he is gone, we are very proud and happy of the legacy that he left us. This is something that will be treasured and we will never forget him althroughout our lives," he said. Before the Requiem Mass, Armed Forces chief Gen. Victor Ibrado conferred the rank of reserve lieutenant colonel to Remonde at the at the Diosdado Macapagal Sports Center. Alburo received the set of uniform, insignia and certificate for the commissionship on his behalf. Remonde applied for the title in October 2009, which the Philippine Army approved on January 15, 2010, four days before his death. Before attending the Requiem Mass for Remonde, President Arroyo inaugurated the Cansaga Bay Bridge with Garcia, Cebu Rep. Nerissa Soon-Ruiz and Public Works Secretary Victor Domingo. Soon-Ruiz acknowledged Remonde for the completion of the project, which was started when Remonde still headed the Presidential Management Staff. "(I) can't help but feel sad that we have lost Secretary Remonde... It's sad that he was not able to see it through the inauguration," she said, adding that the bridge would remind her of the late press secretary. - LBG/KBK, GMANews.TV