The Philippine Online Chronicles

Senior State Prosecutor Leo Dacera, who is handling the high-profile Maguindanao massacre case since from the start, died of a heart attack Thursday morning.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima confirmed the death of Dacera, Assistant Chief State Prosecutor Richard Anthony Fadullon said in a text message to GMA News.

ABS-CBN reports that Sec. De Lima, in a text message, said that “his lifeless body was found by her daughter around 5:00 [on Thursday], reportedly due to cardiac arrest.”

He was rushed to Medical City but declared dead on arrival.

Dacera, who leads the the Department of Justice's Witness Protection Program (WPP), holds the high profile Maguindanao massacre case. He was reportedly still able to attend the massacre trial at Camp Bagong Diwa Wednesday. He has been focusing on the Maguindanao massacre case since it was first brought to the public's attention.

Troubled and withdrawn

Sec. De Lima told GMA News that Dacera seemed troubled and withdrawn because of work-related matters. It was reportedly possible that he could no longer handle what was bothering him.

Dacera took his work “very seriously, particularly his job of ensuring the witnesses in the Maguindanao massacre case were adequately protected,” de Lima said. “For the past few weeks, people were telling me that he was kind of low, withdrawn, and depressed. Something was bugging him. He had a problem,” she continued.

She said the Dacera's demise was a “great loss” to the DOJ. In the meantime, De Lima has designated lawyer Martin Menes as acting WPP director.

Demonstrated grace under pressure

In a statement issued by the Center for Community Journalism and Development (CCJD), Dacera's passing at 4 o'clock Thursday morning “had dealt us a devastating blow, casting a long shadow on our continuing quest for justice for slain colleagues.”

“We mourn the loss of a dear friend and a pillar of hope for surviving kin and witnesses to some of the most gruesome murders of Filipino journalists,” CCJD executive director Red Batario said.

Dacera, called as a man of calm demeanor and quiet dignity, had worked with CCJD for the last eight years. “Leo Dacera had always demonstrated grace under pressure,” Batario continued.

Part of the panel of prosecutors in the massacre case, Dacera graduated in 1983 at the Ateneo de Manila University with a law degree, and took up a masters degree in national security administration from the National Defense College. He was 54.