According to an article from Inquirer.net:
The late action star was given full military honors, being a reservist in the Philippine Navy. A 12-gun salute accompanied the actor’s burial. The Philippine flag wrapped around the casket of Fernandez was handed to his widow, who clutched onto it tightly.
Oh, the dramz! First of all, pardon my ignorance but is there even a 12 gun salute or did inquirer mean 21 gun salute? According to the article in philstar, it was a 21 gun salute.
My sympathies to those left behind by Rudy Fernandez. I’m not a fan but I do acknowledge that he was a very prominent actor and personality in show business. He was so popular that, like many other actors, he even tried to run for office in Quezon City.
I don’t mean to disrespect his family and their grieving but can somebody enlighten me as to what heroic deed is he credited for exactly to deserve a 21 gun salute? That bit from the Inquirer report that says “the Philippine flag wrapped around his coffin was handed to his widow who clutched on to it tightly” seems like an excerpt from a movie script.
If they gave Manny Pacquiao a gun salute (not that I want him dead anytime soon. Knock on wood.), the question mark on my face probably won’t be as big as it is now. Manny is a Pambansang Kamao.
So would they be giving Christopher de Leon the same honor when his time is up? Personally, I think Christopher de Leon is a better actor. Maybe he deserves more guns.
2 responses so far ↓
1 Cedric // Jun 18, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Among the various military customs and traditions, one of the most revered is honoring its fallen comrade when his remains are laid to rest. It’s a time-honored tradition of the warrior class, signifying one’s contribution to the cause, and for those who are left behind to carry on.
The late Rudy Fernandez’ burial rites created a lot of buzz because of some headlines about “21-gun salute” (even the justice secretary joined the resulting military bashing for serious breach of protocol). Checking the footage of that event, the fact shows that what the navy deployed out there is a platoon (3 squads of 7 personnel each) of rifle firing-detail. Their purpose was to render the “rifle-volley salute” over the grave as part of the ceremony – as they eventually did. The minimum requirement for the firing detail is a 7-man squad firing a succession of three volleys (because of the restrictions in firing live ammunitions in urban area, blank ammos are used. The ideal detail, therefore, is 3-squads firing in succession, because the rifle’s automatic bolt-action won’t work to reload the chamber when blanks are used, thereby giving the firer a one shot deal).
Now, where did this “21-gun salute” issue come up? Ah, some clueless reporter might have counted the number of rifles and presto, we have a 21-gun salute. Well, what we have here is a case of somebody who cannot distinguish the difference between a rifle and a gun — one is for shooting and one is for fun (you get the drift). In military parlance, guns refer to crew-served artillery pieces (rifles and pistols, even machine-guns, belong to “small-arms” category). Gun-salutes, especially the highest of its kind – the 21-gun type, are normally rendered by a 6-gun battery (Battery is the artillery’s equivalent of the infantry Company). The military’s preferred artillery pieces for this ceremony is the 105-mm howitzer, firing blank rounds in succession (until the corresponding number of shots is reached). If one’s been around to this kind of ceremony, these beasts create a hell of a noise that all surrounding parked cars squeal their alarms in protests.
An issue may be raised whether or not Daboy deserves the warrior’s honor for a rifle-volley salute (his warrior’s role in films certainly does not count). AFP regulations, however, allows honorably-discharged veterans to be rendered that honor (am not sure about the “inactive” reservists – which Daboy belongs to. Have no time to look it up).
2 Ms. Tsiken // Jun 18, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Thanks Cedric, for clarifying the difference between the rifle-volley and the gun-salute.
It’s probably not as general info as it may seem. But now I know and knowing is half the battle.
I guess the issue really is whether or not Daboy deserves the honor and on what basis.
Probably another “ignorant” question I might have is whether everyone who ever signed up for ROTC or those who took special ROTC training in college are considered reservists.
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