MANILA, Philippines — Arrival honors on Wednesday were rendered for the remains of Filipino diplomat Domingo Lucenario Jr. who was among those killed in a helicopter crash in Pakistan.
READ: Norwegian, Philippine envoys among 7 dead in Pakistan chopper crash
A Pakistani C-130 military plane carrying Lucenario’s body arrived in Manila at 7:30 a.m. before the honor guards of the Philippine Air Force in formation, officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and relatives of the late diplomat.
The widow of Lucenario, Nida, who was being accompanied by the Pakistani minister of commerce Khurram Dastgir Khan descended from the plane, followed by the flag-draped casket of Lucenario.
Pallbearers carried the casket from the plane and proceeded in a slow march as the Air Force band played on.
Justice Secretary Leila De Lima, a good friend and batchmate of Lucenario at the San Beda Law School, led the officials in the arrival honors, including Foreign Affairs Acting Secretary Linglingay Lacanlale and DFA Undersecretary Jesus Yabes.
PHOTO BY RYAN LEAGOGO/INQUIRER.net
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The family of Lucenario, his wife, and his three children wept as the casket was being brought out of the plane.
In an interview, Marien Kathrine Lucenario, eldest daughter of the ambassador, said the family was overwhelmed by the support and condolences of the people here in the country and abroad.
“On behalf of our family we would like to say thank you to all the people who have shared their condolences with us and have expressed their support for our family especially during this very tragic time for us,” Marien said. Next to her was her younger sister Maria Dominique.
“We are deeply saddened and we miss our father every single day,” she said.
Marien said that while her father’s death was so sudden, he would have wanted them to “stay together and be strong.”
“Our dad was a funny guy; he loves to joke around,” she said.
She noted that Lucenario loved to travel with his children, insisting them that “new experiences are more important than material things.”
His being “adventurous” led him to dangerous assignments like Kenya and Pakistan.
Ambassador Lucenario, apart from serving as ambassador to Pakistan, represented the Philippines as a non-resident ambassador in Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. He was former ambassador to Kenya with concurrent jurisdiction to 12 African nations.
The interment will be on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. at the Holy Cross Memorial Park in Quezon City.
Lucenario was killed in a helicopter crash in the mountainous region of Pakistan on Friday along with five others including the Norway ambassador and the wives of the Malaysian and Indonesian ambassadors.
While the Pakistan government initially blamed the crash on mechanical failure, Taliban extremists were claiming responsibility for the incident.