Azenith brings home her husband’s body

Azenith Briones (right) with her late husband Eleuterio R. Reyes II

A day after the assault on Resorts World Manila on Friday, former beauty queen and actress Azenith Briones told the Inquirer that she was feeling better.

“I’m OK now,” she said, a bit tentatively.

It had been a distressing 24 hours for Briones, who is best known as one of the stars of Joey Gosiengfiao’s 1980 camp classic, “Temptation Island.”

She has long considered herself “retired” from show biz and her last big-screen appearance was a cameo in Chris Martinez’s remake of “Temptation Island” six years ago. Her highlight in that 2011 movie showed her being grilled by a TV crew after a yachting mishap.

On Friday, however, real-life drama had dragged Briones in front of the cameras again.

It was because among the 37 who perished in the Resorts World tragedy was her husband, businessman Eleuterio R. Reyes II.

Like the trouper that she is, she granted interviews to various media outlets only a few hours after the incident.

Still, there was a harried, and hurried, quiver in her voice throughout the various interviews.

After all, she had to take care of a gazillion things as a result of her husband’s sudden passing.

On Saturday, she learned that President Duterte would be visiting the Rizal Funeral Homes in Pasay City, where most of the victims were turned over after the attack.

Reyes’ wake was the President’s first stop, and Briones had the chance to speak with him that time (Sunday early morning).

Friend Albert Minguez recalled that Briones had freely shared with the President her observations about the tragedy—specifically, the lapses in security measures and the chaos that resulted after a lone gunman launched an attack on the hotel-casino.

On Sunday morning, Briones, following her original plan, brought her husband’s remains to their hometown, San Pablo, Laguna.

Reyes’ wake will be held on the family’s farm until Friday, Minguez said.

Briones related that she and her husband had been together for 31 years, “since 1986.”

They had been constant companions—often traveling together to places near and far.

Briones recalled that Reyes had insisted on accompanying her that night to Resorts World Manila, where she was set to have a business meeting.

Minutes before the commotion, Briones left her husband at the casino, to order food in a nearby restaurant. She even crossed paths with the gunman, later identified by the police as disgruntled gambler Jessie Carlos.

Upon hearing the gunfire, she rushed to the kitchen, where the staff helped her escape from the hotel-casino, then blanketed with smoke after the assailant had started several fires.

Briones, who was forced to jump from the second floor of the building, insisted on staying in the Resorts World area until daybreak—to await word on her husband, who was trapped in the premises.

She related that there was pandemonium on the site. There was a lot of confusion and conflicting reports, she recounted.

At first, they were told that there were no fatalities. But later that day, she eventually learned the grim news—that her husband had died of smoke inhalation.

She said that she would discuss with her four children their next step. She confirmed that she was planning to consult a lawyer, as well.

But her priority, as of now, is to give her husband a proper burial—and for her and her family to grieve in peace.