On the Reyes Suicide

Many have written on the circumstances surrounding Angelo Reyes' suicide, and many lament the fact that Angelo Reyes, with his death, lost the opportunity to prove his innocence. Such statement takes me aback, since I have been brought up thinking that one is presumed innocent until proven guilty through due process of law.

I decry the fact that Angelo Reyes has been presumed (rightly or wrongly) guilty without having been given the chance to defend himself in the proper forum. He has been stripped of his dignity before the probing eyes of the nation without being given the chance to defend himself.

For the record, Reyes was called to the Senate as a resource person on the investigation being conducted on the plea-bargain agreement between Carlos Garcia and the Government. He was not the focus of the investigation "in aid of legislation". Yet he was put on the spot and made the focus of the investigation -- an investigation which hurled unfounded accusations against his person and his honor, affecting not just him but his family.

He was disgraced even before he was tried, an suffering irreversible disgrace, he sought the only available option left to him. For me, what he did was total liberation from the clutches of the vultures in elected office.