COTABATO CITY Military and civilian officials are mourning the death of Brig. Gen. Daniel Lucero, the head of the Army 1st Tabak Division in Zamboanga del Sur, who died of cardiac arrest Sunday afternoon while he was scuba diving.
Lucero was 30 feet deep into the waters when he died. He was brought up to the surface by fellow divers and was taken to the Mendero Hospital in Pagadian City where he was pronounced dead.
Lucero, a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class 1983, was a former AFP national spokesman who was credited for successfully dismantling known illegal drug dens and combating illegal logging in Lanao during his stint as head of the Marawi City-based 103rd Army Brigade where he was promoted to a one-star rank.
Fellow soldiers and civilians mourned Luceros death, describing it as a great loss in the Armed Forces pursuit for peace and security development in the country, particularly in the troubled south.
Maranaw leaders led by Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Adiong Jr. have also credited Luceros campaign for electoral reforms and settlement of family feuds in the Lanao region.
Journalists belonging to the Kampilan Press Corps of the Maguindanao-based Army's 6th Infantry Division also condoled with relatives of Gen. Lucero, whom they praised as a "media-friendly military officer."
Last April 24, Lucero became head of the 1st Tabak Division, replacing Maj. Gen. Ricardo Rainer Cruz III, who is now the head of the AFPs Eastern Mindanao Command.
