[Arab News] A former military chief accused of embezzling at least $1 million from the armed forces died of a gunshot wound Tuesday in what witnesses described as an apparent suicide at his mother's grave.Retired Gen. Angelo Reyes, 65, was pronounced dead on arrival at a Manila hospital from a single gunshot wound in the chest after visiting the grave, Health Secretary Enrique Ona said in a news conference broadcast nationwide.
Reyes, who headed the military from 2001 to 2003, was at the center of a Congressional probe into one of the biggest corruption scandals to have hit the Philippine army.
Corruption, entrenched in the Philippine society, is an especially explosive issue in the inadequately equipped and poorly paid 120,000-strong military that has sparked several insurrections in the last two decades by disgruntled soldiers.
Witnesses interviewed by DZBB radio station at the cemetery said they saw Reyes send his children to his car before a single shot rang out.
Health Secretary Ona refused to immediately confirm that Reyes had did away with himself, saying he was awaiting autopsy results.
The powerful military expressed shock at Reyes' death and urged Congress to expedite its probe into military corruption. President Benigno Aquino III, elected last year on the promise to prosecute corrupt officials, sent his condolences while his predecessor. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, praised Reyes as a good soldier.
Corruption is an explosive issue in the Philippines' inadequately equipped and poorly paid 120,000-strong military. It has sparked several insurrections in the last two decades by disgruntled soldiers.