JP Navera passes away
Juan Pedro “JP” Navera, one of the best prosecutors from the Department of Justice, died at the age of 49.
On Tuesday, November 24, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra and Undersecretary Emmeline Aglipay-Villar confirmed the death of the Senior Assistant State Prosecutor.
“We are saddened by SASP Navera’s demise. He was one of our best,” Guevarra said.
During his years as a prosecutor, he has handled prominent cases such as drug-related cases involving Reynaldo Parojinog, Jr. and alleged Chinese drug lord Shi Jian Jia.
JP Navera also leads the prosecution against retired Army Major General Jovito Palparan along with the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) over the abduction of student activists Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño.
In 2016, JP Navera lead the prosecution in the case of Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo who was abducted and slain allegedly by policemen.
At the height of the Maguindanao Massacre, JP Navera was also in the first panel of prosecutors.
“From where we stand, he was at once an embodiment of a principled, fair, no-nonsense, brilliant and diligent lawyer. He was a quintessential professional,” NUPL said in a statement
“He can be unforgiving and even cocky in his hard questions and grueling cross-examination. We were awed how he shattered Gen. Palparan’s testimony to smithereens on cross. It was a model even contrived moot courts in law school cannot match,” they added.
“Yet he was very amiable and self-effacing, reluctant to be in the spotlight. He was humorous in his own right and self-deprecating yet can throw a teasing jest at his colleagues,” NUPL noted.
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