Blas Ople, at 76; foreign secretary

Mr. Ople died in Taipei, where the Japan Asia Airways plane on which he was flying from Tokyo to Bangkok landed Dec. 13 after declaring a medical emergency, said Philippine Foreign Undersecretary Franklin Ebdalin. Mr. Ople was returning from a regional summit in Japan.

Regarded as a passionate nationalist and a workaholic, Mr. Ople was an unstoppable chain smoker despite lung disease.

"The nation mourns the death of a great Filipino," Arroyo, who was visiting Hong Kong, said in a statement. "We were awed by the vision and indomitable wit of Secretary Blas Ople. He was an architect of Philippine foreign policy in the finest tradition of enlightened and pragmatic diplomacy."

The US Embassy sent its condolences, calling Mr. Ople's death an "immeasurable loss to the nation of a great patriot and statesman." Employees at the Department of Foreign Affairs quietly wept as Ebdalin announced Mr. Ople's death. Ebdalin will serve as acting foreign secretary until Mr. Ople's replacement is announced.

A Philippine Airlines plane brought Mr. Ople's body in a flag-draped coffin back to Manila late Sunday. Military honor guards, fellow officials, and close relatives carried the coffin to a black funeral car as a brass band played.

The son of a poor boat maker, Mr. Ople was an author, journalist, and longtime columnist for the Manila Bulletin newspaper.

He served as labor minister under Ferdinand Marcos, the longtime president who was ousted in 1986 by a popular uprising. Mr. Ople later became an opposition party senator in 1992, serving briefly as Senate president in mid-1999.

He relinquished his Senate post last year when Arroyo appointed him foreign secretary, replacing Teofisto Guingona, with whom Arroyo had a spat over his opposition to the US military presence in the Philippines.

Despite his frail health, Mr. Ople handled major foreign policy issues including the Philippines' decision to allow American counterterrorist training forces in the country, and Manila's support of the US-led invasion of Iraq.

Mr. Ople led senators who approved a pact with Washington called the Visiting Forces Agreement, which allowed the resumption of large-scale US military exercises in the Philippines. Left-wing groups denounced him for his pro-American stance.