General Angelo Reyes's wake - Senator Antonio Trillanes conspicuously absent

Conspicuously absent from the wake today of former Secretary and retired General Angelo Reyes was none other than mutineer-turned-"senator" Antonio Trillanes IV. Trillanes viciously interrogated Reyes in a Senate "inquiry" into corruption in the Philippine military and made use of uncalled-for disrespectful words leading to speculation that the humiliation suffered by Reyes under what may ultimately be a pointless grandstanding exercise triggered his suicide.

Reyes is scheduled to be buried with full military honours on Sunday the 13th of February. His wake was reported to have been well-attended by both high officials of the military and government and ordinary people, friends, and family whose lives he had touched in life.

As AFP officials, enlisted and civilian personnel, and those from the police and other agencies once led by the late general such as the Defense Department, the Interior and Local Government, Environment and Natural Resources, Energy, and ordinary civilians joined the queue to have a last glimpse of Reyes, retired Col. Eduardo Batac, [Department of National Defense (DND)] spokesman said: “Napapansin po naman natin na napakadaming tao na dumadagsa dito. A lot of people have been touched by the late, the former chief of staff and the former secretary of national defense.”

Notable of all were the visits to Reyes's wake of President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III and former President Joseph "Erap" Estrada, both of whom set aside the politics that would have complicated their presence there.

Estrada hinted the possibility that his son Senator Jinggoy Estrada may follow suit and pay his respects as well. Earlier, the younger Estrada had expressed what could be possibly regarded as regret for the way Reyes was treated in the Senate inquiry...

But Estrada—whose eyes were conspicuously red with dark circles around them—indicated that he should have been more circumspect during the blue ribbon hearings.

“I’m practicing to gag myself first. I don’t want to say anything while the family of Secretary Reyes is still in mourning,” he told reporters.

[...]

Estrada said he would rather that Reyes’ wife Teresita be spared from the hearing.

In contrast to the renewed gentlemanly conduct of the Estradas and President Aquino, Trillanes has adhered to his being quite clear about not being sorry about Reyes's death:

When asked further if he felt sorry for the death of Reyes, an upper classman in the Phil. Military Academy, Trillanes said: “No. Kasi sabi ko nga, I’m the kind of person who learns from lessons of life. And we would have wished or preferred that things were ended on a more pleasant note. That’s just how life was meant to be for all of us.

Trillanes also believed that "that was how life was meant to be for Secretary Reyes".