Was it Cowardice? Was it Love?

"Many streams manage to surmount barriers they meet along the way, but they come out of obstacles after much labor, only to end in a foul and stagnant marsh or lake. How like so many human lives!" - The Will of the River

Indeed it's true! How like so many people in the world, like the former Department of Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes, whom many persons close to his heart described him as a man who had shown splendid heroism in the prime of his manhood in the service of his fellowmen. He had been so determined to overcome the odds, the hostile barriers, the insurmountable impediments, only to end in defeat, disgrace, and remorse in the autumn of his life.

What a sad fate for a man who was looked up as an epitome of success and a hero of so many people, yet all of a sudden ended his life with a single bullet. His act and his integrity as a person was now in question. Various comments and sentiments were already expressed. Filipinos here and abroad flooded different sites with their reactions about this sudden death. Was he really to be blamed, or are we to blame it to the circumstance that motivated him to do the act. As a military man who was able to surpass all the challenges that had confronted him, would we consider him a coward for doing this? for not facing the music? Or was it love that spurred him to do the horrible act? Are we capable or right to judge his actions? We may find it so baseless, but who knows what he was thinking when chose to end his life?

Now this is the question: If we were in his position, and our families are insulted, hurt, maligned, dishonored in public, how would we react? What would we do? How are we to deal with all of these? How sure are we not to sort to the same act that Gen. Reyes did? It is always easier said than done, as the trite saying goes, and I agree. It easier for us to give our comments and to be judgmental for we were not in his shoes. But what if we were? Would our reactions be the same as the way we reacted today? But it's alright to express how we look at things, only that we should consider the different sides of the matter. There is only one and BEST judge for all our actions, and none from us has the right to do it; it's only HIM!

In pace requiescat! Rest in peace, Sir Angelo Reyes(+).