Scientia Online

In Memoriam: Leonard Co
By Jann Sy

Leonard Co was one of the pillars of the study of botany and plant taxonomy in the Philippines and a proud son of the University of the Philippines, Diliman. His work in the field of Philippine Botany will always remain a testament to his service to his country, dedication to science and conviction in his beliefs.

Early Family Life

Born in Manila one December 29, 1953, Leonard was the eldest and the only male among five other siblings. His father, Lian Sing Co, hails from China, and his mother, Emelina Legaspi, Taguddin, Ilocos.

Life in the Academe

Early in his life, in 1972, he enrolled in the University of the Philippines as a Bachelor of Science in Botany, years before Botany and Zoology departments merged into the single Institute of Biology we know today.

As his was a time of great political upheaval, along with many University students at that time, Leonard Co joined the revolutionary underground movement and became part of a large network of Filipino scientists and technologists who were committed to using their knowledge to serve their countrymen despite the Marcos dictatorship.

In line with this, he committed years of his life to dedicated service and research. He, along with his colleagues, studied the medicinal plants in the Philippines in order to make public local herbal medicine and to pave the way for production of medicine from accessible and prevalent sources. Leonard and his colleagues collaborated on the pioneering authoritative manual on medicinal plants in the Philippines, Manual on Some Philippine Medicinal Plants, in 1977.

Leonard Co shaped the face of Philippine plant taxonomy, even though he did not possess a college degree and only recently was he awarded his degree in Botany. The board of regents waived the requirements of obtaining the degree because of his outstanding contributions to Philippine botany. Accordingly, the University of the Philippines granted him his BS Botany degree in the summer of 2008, even if the program had been dissolved decades ago. Moreover, he holds the distinction of being the only Biology or Botany major to have not submitted an undergraduate thesis as a requirement for graduation. In lieu of this, he submitted a book he authored entitled Medicinal Plants of the Cordilleras.

Life in service of the community

During the 1980’s Leonard served as staff of the Community Health Education, Services and Training in the Cordillera Region. While he was working in the Cordilleras, he condensed the people’s knowledge and application on medicinal plants into his book, Medicinal Plants of the Cordilleras, which he in turn, gave back to the community by sharing what he had learned.

Leonard Co also spearheaded the development of health programs in the Mountain Province, Ifugao, Benguet, Abra and Kalinga that drew from the use of medicinal plants and practice of acupuncture as an alternative to western medicine due to the absence of medical professionals. In spite of all the danger and difficulties to reach these places, he graciously served these communities when the government would neglect them.

Life as an exceptional botanist

Leonard Co was one of the few classically trained botanists in plant taxonomy and systematics of our time. According to many who knew him, he could name any species of plant presented to him on the spot, without using references. His knowledge was founded not only through books, but through massive amounts of empirical field work. And, with his knowledge, he was published in local and international scientific journals.

He was invited thrice to Harvard University, where his passion for Philippine flora resonated overseas – a testament to his ability and ingenuity. The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute’s Stuart Davies also recognized Co’s work and his industry in studying the plants he harvested.

Vic Amoroso of the Central Mindanao University said Co always carried a long stick for collecting specimens and always shared whatever he had found.

In the University, along with Professor Emeritus Ed Gomez, he decreed that the campus was to be adorned only with native trees –these trees came from Leonard’s collections and nursed at the University.

Last Days

Leonard Co passed away last November 15 in a reported crossfire in Leyte between Armed Forces of the Philippines soldiers and Communist guerrillas. Co and his team were surveying a forest plot of the Energy Development Corporation for native Philippine trees and plants, especially those that are in danger of extinction.

Remembering

“To signify that Co will always be a part of UP, a third of his ashes after cremation was given to the UP Institute of Biology and scattered under one of UP’s trees.

Colleagues still laud his expertise, saying that he could point to any plant and handily give its scientific name and species.

He was so dedicated a taxonomist that he named his young daughter Linnaei Marie after the father of taxonomy, Carl Linnaeus

Co would also live on in the Rafflesia leonardi, an endemic parasitic plant species and one of the biggest flowers in the Philippines which was named after him.

And to hear his colleagues and friends tell it, the presence of the coffee-, cooking- and harmonica-loving Co was very valuable—as a botanist and as a friend—when he was still alive.”




Information taken mainly from the statements of:
Dr. Fidel Nemenzo
Community Health Education, Services and Training in the Cordillera Region (CHESTCORE)
Dr. Benjamin Vallejo, Jr.
Mabi David
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20101121-304405/Leonard-Co-son-of-UP-is-home
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwoVG19Vi5o

You may also visit this page founded in honor of Leonard Co:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Leonardo-L-Co-In-Memoriam/162637747108520