MANILA, Philippines – While lambasting other diplomats, militant group Migrante sang praises for Domingo “Doy” Lucenario Jr, the Philippine ambassador to Pakistan who died in a helicopter crash.

Migrante described Lucenario, who was killed in Pakistan on May 8, as “open-minded and willing to listen.” The group cited his service in Hong Kong, a top destination for Filipino workers abroad.

This was “the most noteworthy tribute” for Lucenario, Philippine Foreign Assistant Secretary Jesus Domingo said. After all, it came from one of the staunchest critics of the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) – most recently in the case of Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipino worker on Indonesia’s death row. 

Migrante’s message, Domingo said, showed Lucenario’s “ability to listen, to counsel, and to comfort” even “the most challenging of stakeholders.” 

“Some say that diplomacy is the ability to tell someone to go to hell in such a way that they look forward to the journey. But Doy turned this around by saying, by showing, that even those who wish us to hell can be partners in this journey – a journey toward the advancement of Philippine foreign policy,” Domingo said on Friday, May 15. 

It’s a trait that came from deep within. Domingo pointed out that Lucenario had the “3 Qs” of every successful diplomat. Lucenario not only had a good IQ or intelligence quotient, and EQ or emotional quotient. He also had the SQ – the “spiritual quotient.” 

“He was the total diplomat,” Domingo said. He explained that many diplomats “tend to have one or just two” of the 3 Qs, “but Doy definitely had all 3.” 

Domingo, who goes by the nickname Gary, recounted a low point in his career, when he thought “it wasn’t worth it.”

Lucenario took him aside and said: “Gary, the DFA is a career like no other – not only because of the benefits, but really because we serve the nation, at the forefront, at the frontier. We are the frontline.”

“He really channels our Lord,” said Domingo, Lucenario’s batchmate in entering the foreign service.

Domingo spoke in Friday’s memorial service at the DFA headquarters in Pasay City. The event brought together generations of Philippine diplomats, who shed their usually sober aura to let their emotions out. 

‘The ultimate homo sapiens’

One of the Philippines’ leading experts on the South China Sea dispute, Philippine Consul General to San Francisco Henry Bensurto Jr, cried as he described the 54-year-old Lucenario as “a deeply religious person.”

He said Lucenario even invited him to pray the rosary together, “without anybody knowing,” during official trips. Lucenario would also ask Bensurto when they “could go to a retreat together.” 

Bensurto, also Lucenario’s batchmate, said in his eulogy: “Before, I wondered where Doy got his peace and tranquility. Why did he get to be very cheerful all the time? After becoming close to him, I have come to the conclusion that the happiness he exudes was more than just a physiology of the human body. It was a joy and peace anchored in his love for God, his love for his family, and his love for his fellow human beings.”

“He was the ultimate homo sapiens,” he said.

Bensurto explained: “Doy manifested his love for God and others through his daily work. Every day he would struggle, sometimes to a heroic degree and with a smile, to be a good man and a good worker. He considered his work not as a burden, but as a means to serve others. Thus, he used the authority and power of his position not to power-trip or to abuse but to help others. His motto was, ‘If you can help, why not?'”

Bensurto said Lucenario’s death, which was attributed to a Taliban attack, “reminded us of the many risks of our job.”

“More often than not, many people think that diplomacy is just about receptions and glamour, dresses and food. People tend not to remember how we put ourselves in many difficult and risky situations to help others. Sometimes, we even go as far as the gates of hell in order to pluck out and save a soul,” he said. 

Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario added, “Ambassador Doy was a diplomat’s diplomat.”

Del Rosario, for one, praised Lucenario’s work in helping the Philippines move to the e-passport system. It’s a project that “brought our passports into the 21st century,” Domingo said. 

The Philippines’ top diplomat said: “In all his endeavors, his constant battle-cry was, “Para sa bayan (For the country).” In the end, he paid the ultimate sacrifice in the service of our country.”

To close his eulogy for Lucenario, Del Rosario referred to a crucial part of any diplomat’s job: to present his or her credentials to the president of the host country, before an ambassador’s work can officially begin. 

“When he presents his credentials to our Creator,” Del Rosario said, “he will no doubt be received warmly and with open arms – to hear words sounding like, ‘Well done, my son, well done.'” – Rappler.com