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Tuesday, December 16, 2003
Arroyo orders state funeral for Ople at Libingan ng mga Bayani
* Flags to be flown at half-mast; national day of mourning planned
PRESIDENT Arroyo ordered a state burial for the late Foreign Affairs Sec. Blas Ople who died Sunday morning on his way to Bahrain to join the two-day state visit of the President.
Deputy presidential spokesman Ricardo Saludo said the details are still being worked out but it would include a national day of mourning and interment of Ople at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. A proclamation order is still being prepared by Malacaņang.
He said flags would also be flown at half-mast in respect to the 76-year-old Cabinet official.
The Philippine flag at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) at Roxas Blvd. was already flown at half-mast Monday.
Saludo said the plans have already been conveyed to the Ople family but the President would personally meet with them after she returns from Bahrain on Tuesday morning.
The initial plan was to bury Ople in his hometown -- Hagonoy, Bulacan -- but Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo had prevailed on the family to allow a state funeral for Ople.
"While the people of Hagonoy may wish to have him buried there, they will certainly not decline the honor of having the remains interred in the heroes' cemetery," Saludo said.
Saludo said Foreign Affairs Usec. Franklin Ebdalin would continue to be the acting foreign affairs secretary until a replacement has been appointed.
But Arroyo, in a statement from Bahrain where she is on a state visit, said she would assume the foreign affairs portfolio in an interim capacity until Ople's replacement has been appointed.
This would be the second time that Arroyo would assume the post as she held the position for three weeks in July 2002 after Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr. resigned as foreign affairs secretary last July 2.
The President said the nation mourns the death of "a great Filipino" who championed peace, human rights, collective security and the rule of law.
"The nation and our millions of Filipino workers, including those overseas, also recall with deep gratitude and admiration the decades that Ka Blas devoted to serving to the interests of the working man and woman, as well as his pioneering efforts in the promotion of overseas employment. We will miss Ka Blas - journalist, labor advocate, senator, and statesman - and the world will miss him," she added. SCT
(December 16, 2003 issue)
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