Leo Dacera, 54
In Memoriam
“There is no limit to the good you can do in this world,
if you don’t care who gets the credit.”
The CENTER FOR MEDIA FREEDOM AND RESPONSIBILITY AND
THE FREEDOM FUND FOR FILIPINO JOURNALISTS
express their deep sadness
at the passing of
Senior Assistant State Prosecutor
LEO DACERA III
Director of the Department of Justice,
Witness Protection Program
State Prosecutor Dacera was a graduate of the Mindanao State University, from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. He held a Bachelor of Laws degree from the Ateneo de Manila College of Law, and a Masters in National Security Administration degree from the National Defense College of the Philippines.
At the time of his death at 54, he was the Program Director of the Witness Protection, Security, and Benefits Program of the Department of Justice, among the major concerns of which is the campaign to dismantle the culture of impunity by arresting, prosecuting, and penalizing the killers of journalists.
Prosecutor Dacera was the team leader of the DOJ prosecution team
in the People vs. Estanislao Bismanos et al. criminal case, which resulted in the convictions for murder of the three men involved in the killing
of Sultan Kudarat journalist Marlene Esperat.
In the course of a long career in government, he had been Acting Provincial Prosecutor of Antique in the trial of the killers of Gov. Evelio Javier; Acting Provincial Prosecutor of Sarangani Province in the trial of Norberto Manero et al. for kidnapping and multiple murder; Chairman of the Investigating Panel that looked into the coup d’etat charges against now Senator Gregorio Honasan; and Chairman of the Investigating Panel that looked into the murder and kidnapping for ransom charges against Gen. Panfilo lacson in 2000, among others. He was the prosecutor in several cases of kidnapping and ransom involving the Abu Sayyaf Group, among which he won a number of convictions, among them the Dos Palmas kidnapping
and the Sipadan hostage-taking incidents.
But it was an ally in the campaign against impunity through the prosecution of cases of media killings, to which he brought a level of dedication and passion rare in government service, that Prosecutor Dacera was most well known to media defense and press freedom advocate groups.
To the tedious work of petitioning for the change of venue of the trials of journalists’ killers to places where they cannot be influenced by the powerful, assuring the presence of witnesses during hearings, and looking after the welfare of the families of slain journalists, he dedicated much of his time, knowledge and energy, tirelessly coordinating his efforts with those of the media and journalists’ groups fighting the impunity
that encourages further killings.
Not one to seek credit for his work and accomplishments, Prosecutor Dacera was the epitome of the ideal public prosecutor who brought
to his post the honor and integrity public trust demanded.
He will be missed by the many men and women whose lives he touched: by the survivors of slain journalists, their wives, children and other kin, and by the members of the media and journalist organizations with whom he worked to put an end to the culture of impunity in the Philippines.
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by CMFR, CMFR, CMFR, kathryn raymundo, Hector Bryant Macale and others. Hector Bryant Macale said: RT @cmfr: FFFJ expresses its deep sadness at d passing of Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Leo Dacera III httpss://ow.ly/34P7Q #obit #media […]
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