Army: Lucero to be buried at Libingan ng mga Bayani

Brigadier General Daniel Lucero receives his flag from Lt. Gen. Noel Coballes, commanding general of the Philippine Army, as he assumed the position of the new commanding general of 1st Infantry Tabak Division based in Pulacan, Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur on April 24. Looking on is Maj. Gen. Ricardo Rainer Cruz III. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Brigadier General Daniel Lucero, who died after scuba diving in Zamboanga del Sur last Sunday, will be laid to rest at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes Cemetery) in Fort Bonifacio on June 8, Saturday, the Philippine Army announced Tuesday.

Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Cabangbang, Army spokesman, said Lucero’s remains will lie in state at the mortuary chapel at Fort Bonifacio until his burial date.

The Heroes Cemetery is a resting place for military personnel, national artists and former presidents.

Necrological services will be held on Friday, Cabangbang said.

Army chief Lt. Gen. Noel Coballes said Lucero could have been the next Commanding General of the Philippine Army, having one of his recommended officers to replace him as he retires in February.

“He was one of my recommendees to become one of the persons to be selected as Commanding General of the Army,” Coballes told reporters on Tuesday.

He described Lucero as a “good leader, very professional and an asset to the Armed Forces.”

“He is a loss to the Philippine Army,” he said.

Before his death, Lucero headed the Army’s First Infantry Division, which holds jurisdiction of war-torn Basilan and Zamboanga provinces.

He was also named as one of the Ten Outstanding Philippine Soldiers by the Metro Bank Foundation and Rotary Club of Makati Metro in 2011.

In a statement by the First Infantry Division on Tuesday, it said that Lucero died of cardiopulmonary arrest, secondary to myocardial infarction or “heart attack,” as cited by attending physician Dr. Irene Lacson of Mendero Hospital, where the general was brought for emergency treatment.