Rodolfo Biazon buried at heroes’ cemetery

MANILA, Philippines — Former senator and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief-of-staff Rodolfo Biazon was buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig City on Tuesday.

As a retired general, Biazon was granted full military honors — including a 19-gun salute — before he was laid to rest at the cemetery around noon.

Among those who paid their last respects were Biazon’s son Muntinlupa Mayor Ruffy Biazon and their other relatives, Defense chief Gibo Teodoro, incumbent AFP chief-of-staff Gen. Andres Centino, and the chiefs of the armed forces’ main service branches.

The Muntinlupa mayor described his father as a “faithful public servant.”

“From his military career to his career in legislation, he remained the same — a simple, faithful public servant,” the younger Biazon said on the sidelines of the funeral.

Centino also described the Biazon patriarch as “an epitome of a true soldier” who was “dedicated, faithful, and loyal to the country and the Filipino people.”

“He was a loyal soldier, true to his oath. That’s why we are here to pay our respects to him,” the AFP chief-of-staff said in a chance interview.

Gen. Biazon’s loved ones, Defense chief Gibo Teodoro, and chiefs of AFP main service branches are among those who paid their last respects to the former senator and AFP chief. @inquirerdotnet pic.twitter.com/sy8VTJ6asj

— John Eric Mendoza (@JEMendozaINQ) June 20, 2023

After the Edsa People Power Revolution, Biazon became the commanding general of the Marines and eventually rose to become the AFP chief-of-staff in 1991, which was during the administration of late president Corazon Aquino.

Known as one of the military officers who stayed loyal to Aquino, he helped quash the 1987 and 1989 coup attempts staged by military rebels.

A year later, he won a seat in the Senate and held two consecutive terms from 1998 to 2010.

As a lawmaker, Biazon pushed for laws providing low-cost housing and advocating laws for the benefit of soldiers.

He passed away on June 12, Independence Day, after battling lung cancer and pneumonia.

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