Military pallbearers brought the flag-draped coffin of retired Gen. Angelo Reyes to his tomb at the National Heroes’ Cemetery as his widow and sons — all dressed in white — wept and dropped petals on his casket. The mourners were led by former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, whom Reyes served loyally through four failed military uprisings.

Reyes, who also served as defense chief and was among the country’s most prominent generals, shot himself in the chest at his mother’s grave Tuesday after he and two other ex military chiefs of staff were accused of pocketing millions of dollars from funds intended for troop salaries, combat needs and a military hospital. Reyes denied the accusation.

“We can proudly say that he died an honorable death, with dignity,” Reyes’s son, Marc, told mourners after the burial. “No one can take that away from us.” In eulogies late Saturday, fellow generals and former Arroyo Cabinet members expressed shock at his death, describing him as a patriotic general and doting father.

Reyes oversaw many counterinsurgency battles, including an offensive in 2000 that led to the fall of the main stronghold of the country’s largest Muslim rebel group. He was in charge of the departments of defense, environment, energy, interior and local government affairs and held other key posts under Arroyo.

Corruption, long entrenched in Philippine society, is an especially explosive issue in the inadequately equipped and poorly paid 120,000-strong military and has sparked several insurrections by disgruntled troops in the last two decades.

Leonor Briones, a former Philippine Treasury head who has conducted extensive studies of corruption, said about 20 percent of the government budget is lost to graft. She said the problem could undermine President Benigno Aquino III’s administration if he fails to curb corruption as he promised in last year’s campaign.

“You’re sitting on a time bomb,” Briones said. “The level of disaffection is mostly among the well-informed right now ... but people may eventually realize that their poverty and hunger are directly caused by corruption.” Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said senators would press on with their investigation of military graft despite criticism that hostile questioning at a Jan. 27 hearing may have prompted Reyes to kill himself.

“It is unfortunate that somebody took his life because of any investigation done by us,” Enrile told DZBB radio.

“But if we’re going to stop, it’s the nation’s interest that will be hurt.” Sen. Franklin Drilon said Reyes’s widow may be asked to testify after a period of mourning. She has been accused of taking money for a foreign trip.