State funeral for top diplomat

Philippine foreign affairs secretary Blas Ople was buried yesterday in a tree-shaded knoll at the heroes cemetery in Manila in a state funeral befitting his long and colourful career as a writer and statesman.

Ople died of heart attack last December 14 on board Japanese airliner on his way to Bangkok. He was about to board a connecting flight to Bahrain for the state visit of President Gloria Arroyo but was rushed to a hospital in Taiwan where he died.

Diplomats, lawmakers and cabinet officials were among the dignitaries who paid last respects to a man they often described as a brilliant diplomat with a rich historical knowledge on world issues.

Foreign leaders who attended Ople's state funeral include Minister Nur Hassan Wirajuda of Indonesia and Malaysian deputy minister Leo Michael Toyad, Singaporean second minister Lee Yock Suan, Cambodian undersecretary Sun Saphoeun, Vietnamese vice minister Nguyen Phu Binh and Thai vice minister Sorajak Kasemsuvan.

Other leaders who bid farewell were Chinese vice minister Wang Ying Fan; Masatoshi Abe, Japanese vice foreign minister and South Korean Vice Minister Kin Jae-sup.

Ruth Pearce, Australian ambassador to Manila said Ople may have served the Department of Foreign Affairs for a short period but his foreign policies have had an impact to the international community.