By Monsi A. Serrano
The inurnment of former Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando “Nonoy” Andaya Jr. is set today at the St. Therese Columbarium in Pasay City. He is being laid to rest on the same day his wife, Marissa (successor of his seat in the House of Representatives), succumbed to cancer two years ago.
Wise beyond his years, Andaya was recruited by former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo from his third term in Congress to be her budget secretary in 2006. He served that post until the end of Arroyo’s term in 2010, with her swearing how well he took after the brilliance of his father, Rolly Andaya, in balancing the budget of both the Cory Aquino and Fidel Ramos administrations.
The whole nation, especially his friends who knew him well and Bicolanos whom he served faithfully, could not imagine or come to terms with the reported circumstances of his sudden and violent death.
If Nonoy Andaya indeed took his own life, as police investigators suspect, then he would be the second Cabinet official of PGMA to have killed himself. The first was her defense chief, Angelo Reyes – a decorated and well-respected military general.
Apparently, they killed themselves under different circumstances. Angie Reyes was investigated by the Senate and berated by the media over corruption allegations as secretary of the Department of National Defense. There are certain things a man cannot bear.
After his dreamy “Spice Boys” days in Congress, Andaya did have his share of controversy. As PGMA’s budget chief, he was charged in the time of the PNoy Aquino administration of plunder over the supposed misuse of the Malampaya gas fund. And in the time of the Duterte regime, he was charged with multiple counts of graft and malversation along with – of all people – public fund scam queen Janet Lim-Napoles.
But losing his wife to cancer in 2020 and then losing his second bid – the first time in 2019 – for election as Camarines Sur governor last May apparently took a heavy toll on him. Whatever the true circumstances surrounding his sudden demise, may he rest in peace.
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Shockingly, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) believes there was criminal intent in several deaths of inmates at the New Bilibid Prison, that it dragged 22 personnel of the National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO) – including doctors assigned to “Munti” – to court.
The move has been applauded by former senator Leila de Lima, particularly because one of those deaths was that of Jaybee Sebastian, whom she claims had falsely incriminated her in the drug cases filed against her by the Duterte administration.
What’s mind-boggling, though, in this NBI probe over the mysterious deaths within the national penitentiary’s walls is that not a single Bureau of Corrections official or personnel had been included in the case filed. If a conspiracy to cover up probable murders of persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) had occurred, how could the BuCor be kept out of the loop? That’s worth reinvestigating.
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