Erap says he’ll remember Reyes as a ‘good general’

Former President Joseph Estrada on Tuesday extended his “deepest condolences" to the family of former Defense secretary Angelo Reyes, the man whose defection had led to his downfall from the presidency in 2001. "I extend my deepest condolences to the family of Gen. Angelo Reyes. In spite of what happened at EDSA Dos, I will always remember him as a good general," Estrada said in a short statement. He said Reyes, also a former Armed Forces chief, played an instrumental role in his administration’s all-out war against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in 2000, when government troops seized the secessionist group’s biggest and most fortified camp in Mindanao. "I pray for the eternal repose of his soul," said Estrada, who named Reyes chief of the Armed Forces in July 1999 and even stood as a principal sponsor at the wedding of Reyes’ son Jett in 2000. Estrada had earlier said he and Reyes had patched up their differences resulting from Reyes’ withdrawal of support in 2001. Reyes, who held four Cabinet positions during nine-year Arroyo administration, died Tuesday in an apparent suicide in front of his mother's grave at the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina City. His death came barely two weeks after he was accused of amassing millions of pesos while serving as chief of staff and even upon his retirement from the service in March 2001. Reyes denied the allegation. — KBK/RSJ, GMA News