Retired Major General Rodolfo Canieso’s burial is set on August 21 which happened to be Former Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr.’s death anniversary.
Retired Major Gen. Rodolfo Canieso, the first Army Commander of former President Corazon C. Aquino, died on Saturday at the age of 84.
Canieso let go of his breath in a hospital in Bacolod City after suffering a stroke, the Army Spokesman Col. Benjamin Hao said.
Hao said before he died, Canieso was supposed to speak about national-security issues before members of the Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade in Murcia, Negros Occidental, on August 1.
“While waiting for his turn to speak, he fell from his chair. He was taken to the hospital but he never recovered,” Hao said.
Canieso’s remains are expected to arrive at the Libingan ng mga Bayani by noon of August 18.
“Public viewing is tentatively scheduled on August 19 and 20. A necrological program is tentatively scheduled on August 20,” Hao said.
The interment has been tentatively scheduled on August 21.
The Army will provide all military honors as befits a former commanding general, such as vigil, bugler-drummer, firing party, military host-pallbearers, escort and transportation, and arrival and departure honors,” Hao said.
Canieso, who is a native of Barangay Kansilayan, Murcia Town in Negros Occidental, was called “Filipino” by those who knew him in the Armed Forces.
He earned the monicker after he allegedly answered, when asked by higher headquarters on how his operations against Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF)rebels are going on: “We Filipinos are doing alright, it is only the Ilocanos who are dying.” At the time, there were lots of Ilocanos in the military service since the president, the Armed Forces chief of staff and the Army commander were all Ilocanos.
The dubbed “legendary” and “one of the greatest” army commanding army generals, was credited with liberating Jolo from the separatist guerrillas who took over Sulu’s capital town during the MNLF rebellion in Mindanao, Canieso was credited with liberating Jolo from the separatist guerrillas who took over Sulu’s capital town.
Also during the MNLF rebellion, Canieso gained the reputation of being a “kanyonero.”
Former subordinates said to make them jump off on time during operations, Canieso ordered his artillery to fire some rounds at the staging area of his troops 30 minutes after they were supposed to start operations.
Canieso, a member of Philippine Military Academy Class of 1956, first gained prominence during the Cory Aquino administration, when he trained several batteries of artillery at the Manila Hotel, that was occupied by Marcos-loyalist politicians and soldiers in July 1986. He said he would blast the hotel if the holdouts inside refuse to come out and surrender. They did.
In another incident, a group of misguided Army troops occupied Canieso’s headquarters in Fort Andres Bonifacio in Makati, the Army headquarters.
Canieso was able to slip out of the headquarters, commandeered a V-150 armored personnel carrier and trained its machine gun on the headquarters building, shouting to those inside to “surrender or be blasted away.” They surrendered after Canieso fired a few bursts, killing one of the mutineers.
Canieso served as the 28th commanding general of the Army, serving his term from February 28, 1986, up to July 1, 1987, during the administration of the late President Aquino.