Leeboy

Click here to view Leeboy's Statement regarding the Incident.

Born in a village called Adgao in Tubungan, Iloilo, Jose Ely Leeboy Garachico enjoyed a simple childhood. The second of seven children, he was frail and shy and would shun quarrels among other kids. Being a son of school teachers Quirico Garachico and Emilia Tagamolila may have given him an edge mentally, he ended at the top of his class throughout elementary school at the village school.

Coming from a clan of devout Roman Catholics, Leeboy entered the seminary after graduating from elementary school. He spent his high school and college years in the CICM Mission Seminary in Talisay, Negros Occidental. As part of the prescribed seminary curriculum, he took Liberal Arts with Psychology as his Major course and Philosophy as his Minor course at La Salle College (now University of St. La Salle), Bacolod City, graduating in 1977. He made it to the Dean’s honor list several times.

Seminary life has ingrained in his consciousness that for life to be meaningful, it has to be spent serving others.

Realizing that the priesthood is not the only way to be of service to people, Leeboy left the seminary after college. He found himself joining the Archdiocesan Social Action Center of Jaro, working with its youth organization. In 1978, he worked as an organizer of the Negros-based National Federation of Sugar Workers (NFSW) assigned in Iloilo.

It was at this time when he got married to Tessie Chua, a community organizer from Lapuz, Iloilo City.

As an activist in the dark years of Ferdinand Marcos’ martial law, Leeboy was arrested first in September 1979 and then in October 1981, the latter with his wife. He experienced torture in the hands of then Philippine Constabulary (PC) and was detained for a total of around three years until 1983.

Upon release, he spent time with his family at his hometown Tubungan, 40 kilometers from Iloilo City, helping in their small farm while caring for his three kids named Blesela, Jose Ely Jr. and Kim. His wife then volunteered to work for Kapatid, an organization of relatives of political prisoners.

While participating in activities protesting human rights violations, Leeboy felt the social need for a steadier and stronger advocacy work. He moved to the city and joined Task Force Detainees in 1986 just before the People Power Revolt. A few years later, he became its regional director for Western Visayas.

Until the present, Leeboy is a human rights advocate connected with the Panay Alliance based in Iloilo City under the national network of Karapatan. He is also involved with the Iloilo Legal Assistance Center (ILAC), a legal-based group that assists with legal needs of poor people. He also works with the Center for Relief and Rehabilitation, Education and Economic Development that extends services to the marginalized, especially in far places.

He finds time to meet with former seminarians and participate in activities of their group called Association of Maryshore Ex-seminarians (AMEN).

         Leeboy, spends leisure time taking care of plants and tinkering with machines and gadgets. He enjoys driving and would volunteer to drive for friends’ trips and other meaningful travels when he had the time.