The military said Leonard Co, a consultant to the Lopez-owned Energy Development Corp. (EDC), company forest guard Sofronio G. Cortez and Co’s guide Julius Borromeo were reportedly caught in the crossfire between troops of the Army’s 19th Infantry Battalion (IB) and communist rebels in Upper Mahiao, Barangay (village) Lim-ao.
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has recommended criminal charges against eight soldiers and their commanders for the killing of a respected botanist and his two aides two years ago.
The Commission on Human Rights has called for criminal charges against eight soldiers and their two commanders for the killing of a respected botanist and his two aides.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Thursday said she would order the prosecutor general of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to expedite the release of the result of the preliminary investigation into the killing of renowned botanist Leonard Co on Nov. 15, 2010.
Using a guidebook authored by the late botanist Leonard Co, students, environment advocates and government officials trekked for 40 kilometers across the caldera of Mount Natib from Orani to Morong in Bataan recently.
Botanist Leonard Co documented the flora of the Bataan National Park a year before he was killed in Leyte, and local environmentalists have reproduced the catalogue for students to encourage them to help regreen the park.
Slain botanist Leonard Co spent years building up a directory of indigenous herbs and medicinal plants, which he distributed at little cost to Cordillera communities to help augment health care in remote areas.
Friends and loved ones continue to cry out for justice for botanist Leonard Co and his two companions who were shot dead under mysterious circumstances exactly a year ago today (Tuesday) while working in the forests of Kananga, Leyte.
