Hero’s burial for Biazon

MANILA, Philippines — Former lawmaker and retired Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Rodolfo Biazon was laid to rest with full military honors at the Libingan ng mga Bayani yesterday.

His son, Muntinlupa Mayor Ruffy Biazon, said his father, who passed away at the age of 88 on Independence Day last week, remained the “simple, faithful public servant that he is” to his last breath.

A mass was held at the Holy Child Chapel at the Philippine Marines headquarters, followed by the funeral march at around 11 a.m.

Biazon’s remains arrived in a white casket draped with a Philippine flag at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

His remains were placed in a carriage and brought to his final resting place escorted by members of his family led by his wife Montserrat, friends and fellow soldiers in the AFP, especially the Philippine Marine Corps, where he started his career.

Biazon was offered prayers as his casket was opened to allow his family and friends to say goodbye one last time before he was given a 21-gun salute.

The Philippine flag on his casket was folded and given to his family, who offered white flowers as his remains were lowered into the ground.

Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro was among those who attended the interment, along with other ranking officials of the AFP.

Ruffy, in a short interview after the funeral, said his father will always be an inspiration to him as he thanked everyone – especially his constituents in Muntinlupa – for their love and sympathy.

“It is difficult to follow his journey. All I can do now is to draw inspiration and guidance from his life. We may not exactly follow the same path in our career, but how I do things, how I do my duty will be based on how he did it in his life,” he said.

AFP chief Gen. Andres Centino said that Biazon was the “epitome of a true soldier.”

“It is only fitting that through the years he spent as a soldier, as a Marine officer and later on as a public servant, General Biazon did a lot. And we are here to give the appropriate respects to a soldier,” Centino said in a mix of English and Filipino.

“As I said earlier, when I gave the flag to Mrs. Biazon, I told her that… (her husband gave) dedicated, faithful and loyal service to our country. He was a loyal soldier,” Centino added.

Biazon graduated from the Philippine Military Academy as the “class goat” of Class 1961.

He served as AFP chief in 1991 and was elected to the House of Representatives and later to the Senate.

He was diagnosed with lung cancer in July 2022 and caught pneumonia twice this year.