Brig. Gen. Daniel Lucero RICHEL UMEL/INQUIRER MINDANAO
ZAMBOANGA CITY—His colleagues and civil society groups in Mindanao were shocked at the death on Sunday of Brig. Gen. Daniel Lucero, commander of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division. He was 53.
“We were shocked at the news. Sir Lucero was very energetic, always laughing and he showed no signs of any illness,” Capt. Jefferson Somera, spokesperson of the 1st Infantry Division, told the Inquirer by phone.
Dr. Samuel Mendero, director of Mendero Hospital, said Lucero already had “zero-zero vital signs” when brought to the hospital.
“The general died of cardiorespiratory arrest secondary to myocardial infarction due to submersion to water. He reportedly went scuba diving and while under water, he suffered a heart attack,” Mendero told the Inquirer by phone.
“Probably, he was alive when they brought him to the hospital,” the physician added. Tukuran Beach is some 20 kilometers away from Mendero Hospital.
A member of the Philippine Military Academy Class 1983, Lucero was considered one of the good officers in the Armed Forces of the Philippines, according to Army chief Gen. Noel Coballes.
Lt. Gen. Rey Ardo, chief of the Western Mindanao Command, said Lucero had been moving around visiting his troops prior to the incident.
“It is sad to lose a good officer, a good man like Lucero,” Coballes added.
He left behind a wife, Consuelo, and a daughter.
In Ozamiz City, Maranao activists mourned Lucero’s death.
“We are still in shock,” said Samira Gutoc-Tomawis, sectoral representative to the legislative assembly of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Gutoc-Tomawis told the Inquirer “the sad news” was relayed to them by ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman, who was with Ardo in Lamitan City.
Prior to his heading the 1st Infantry Division, Lucero was commanding officer of the Army’s 103rd Brigade based in Marawi City.
In cooperation with Maranao activists and civil society organizations, Lucero led the Army in foiling attempts by unscrupulous politicians to bring into Lanao del Sur would-be flying voters during the special voters registration in the ARMM from July 9 to 18, 2012.
The effort was instrumental in effectively purging the province’s voting population, bringing the numbers to realistic levels—from over 500,000 in 2010 to over 300,000 after the special registration.
“Lucero showed resolute leadership, which was crucial in the drive against multiple voters,” said Maranao youth leader and local broadcast anchor Abul Alibasa.
“Electoral reform and eradicating ‘salimbot’ (cheating) were his favorite words,” recalled Gutoc-Tomawis.
In preparation for the May 2013 polls, Lucero again mobilized support from Maranao activists and civil society groups to form Task Force Kasalimbago that aimed to ensure the peaceful and credible conduct of the political exercise.
The task force was instrumental in bringing rival politicians to swear before the Koran to denounce the use of violence to further their respective electoral campaigns.
It was also instrumental in the speedy exchange of information that aided quick response actions of security forces on law and order issues hounding the May 13 polls, even as Lucero was already with the 1st Infantry Division.
“He showed us that true friendship between Christians and Muslims is possible,” said Gutoc-Tomawis. Julie S. Alipala and Ryan D. Rosauro, Inquirer Mindanao