DANJUGAN ISLAND—Environmental advocate Benjie Casipe got his last wish.
On Tuesday members of Casipe’s family and close friends started to spread his ashes to places he treasured most, starting with one of the lagoons in this island.
Some of his ashes will also be dispersed at a still-undisclosed location in Mount Kanlaon, an area which he frequently visit being an environmental advocate and watchdog.
“It was his wish. He wanted his ashes to be brought in places he values the most,” said Julie Nemenzo, a fellow advocate and admin officer of the Philippine Reef and Rainforest Conservation Foundation Inc. (PRRCFI).
Casipe, 37, of Barangay Granda, Bacolod City, died at a Bacolod hospital on Saturday.
A victim of senseless killing, police said he was mauled by a trisikad driver after robbing him of his cash and valuables. Casipe was left for dead by the attacker, according to Dave Albao, another fellow environmental advocate who was able to visit Casipe in the hospital before he died.
“It took several hours before somebody found him helplessly sitting near the scene where he was robbed,” he said.
Casipe was on his way home after buying a burger and decided to ride a trisikad, Albao said.
“We were able to speak to him. I visited him and he said the robbery was random,” Albao said, ruling out the possibility that he was targeted.
The suspect remains at large and local police are still investigating the cause of death of Casipe because of reports that he died because of “infection” and not because of injuries he sustained from the attack.
Casipe, considered an environmental hero and champion by his colleagues in Negros Occidental, was a member of various environmental advocacy groups, including the Green Alert Negros.
He worked as island manager of Danjugan Island—owned by PRRCFI —for three years before working at the Bacolod City Water District. Last year he returned to PRRCFI as program manager to help his colleagues continue what he started, the Danjugan Environmental Education Program (DEEP) being implemented in partnership with the Foundation for the Philippine Environment (FPE).
Nemenzo, who described Casipe as a “jolly and very passionate” person, said Benjie, as he is called by peers, once told his closest friends that he wanted to be one with nature when he dies, and wished that his ashes be dispersed in the island.
“One time, we stayed in the island overnight, I was surprised to see him walking along the beach with a flashlight. He told me he was looking for sea snakes,” Nemenzo said. “He loves working with the environment. It’s his passion, his advocacy.”