Former Armed Forces Chief of Staff and Secretary of Defense General Angelo Reyes shot himself in the chest earlier today.
Some have hailed his suicide at the grave of his mother as an act of honor, reminiscent of a samurai choosing ritual suicide over a life of shame and ignominy. More recently, it has been the preferred exit strategy of choice for Asian government officials hounded by allegations of corruption, such as former Korean president Roh Moo-hyun, who plunged to his death by jumping off a cliff near his home in 2009.