The UP Office of Alumni Relations sends its deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Prof. Leonardo de Castro, PhD. He was fondly called sir Deca by his students and colleagues at the Department of Philosophy, where he was Chair of the unit for several terms. He also served as the Director of the UP Office of Alumni Relations from 1984 to 1989.
He was a pioneer in Bioethics both in the Philippines and abroad, leading in the field since its inception. He was Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Biomedical Ethics, National University of Singapore and Editor-in-Chief of the Asian Bioethics Review. He chaired the Philippine Health Research Ethics Board, the national body that sets policies and regulates research ethics committees in the country. He sat on the National Ethics Committee. He has served on the National Bioethics Advisory Committee and the National Transplant Ethics Committee. He has been President of the Asian Bioethics Association, Vice-Chair of the UNESCO International Bioethics Committee, Vice-Chair of the Forum for Ethics Review Committees in Asia and the Pacific, and a Bioethics Consultant to the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the European Union and the European Commission. (Source: https://philosophy.upd.edu.ph/faculty/leonardo-de-castro-phd-swansea/)
