THE Department of Agrarian Reform, led by Secretary Brother John R. Castriciones, expressed their grief and condolences to the family of one of the agency’s dynamic officials, Stephen Leonidas, DAR-Eastern Visayas regional director, who passed away on Saturday due to liver-related illness at the age of 64.
His remains lie in state at Saint Peter Chapel, Alijis Road, Barangay Alijis, Bacolod City and will be transferred to La Carlota City College, Gurrea Street. La Carlota City before finally laid to rest on Monday, January 4, 2021, at La Carlota City Memorial Park.
Known for his calm demeanor, Leonidas was often assigned in areas where immediate actions and solutions are required to oversee problematic agrarian-related issues and concerns, especially in landholdings with conflicts between farmers and landowners.
Born on July 24, 1956, Leonidas grew up in La Carlota City, Negros Occidental. He started working at the age of 22, immediately after finishing his course of BS Agriculture, as a Junior Agronomist at PHINMA Agri-Corporation, Inc.
In 1983, he transferred to the DAR La Castellana municipal office, where he rose from the ranks from an agrarian reform technologist, municipal agrarian reform officer in 1988, OIC- Chief for Operations in 1993, to provincial agrarian reform officer in 2003.
His dedication to his job earned him as the head of the DAR-Western Visayas coordinator of a Task Force handling “problematic areas” under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program in 2014.
His contribution to the cause of the country’s social justice program did not escape the watchful eyes of his superiors. His biggest break came in 2016 when he was appointed as Director IV, even as he was already serving as OIC-Regional Director in Western Visayas for three years.
Aside from Western Visayas Region, Leonidas also served as a DAR regional director in Central Visayas, including the short-lived Negros Island Region (NIR), MIMAROPA. His latest assignment as a regional director was on August 13, 2019, when Castriciones transferred him to DAR Eastern Visayas, which he served to the best of his ability until he joined his Creator on December 26, 2020. # (Public Assistance and Media Relations Service, Department of Agrarian Reform)
