MANILA, Philippines — Artist and editorial cartoonist Leonilo "Neil" Doloricon passed away Friday at the age of 63.
His passing was confirmed Friday morning by his daughter Katrina Doloricon, who said his doctor tried to revive him but that he didn't make it.
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In a tribute post, the UP College of Fine Art's Department of Visual Communication said they were in deep sorrow and had only high praise for him.
"Isang mahusay na editorial cartoonist, artista ng bayan na lumalaban, gabay ng mag-aaral at haligi namin sa Kolehiyo ng Sining Biswal," the department said of Doloricon, who was dean of the college from 1998 to 2001.
(A skilled editorial cartoonist, an artist for the people who fought back, a guide to students and a pillar of the College of Visual Arts).
Doloricon was a professor at the college until his death and was chairperson of the Committee on Arts and Humanities at the Commission on Higher Education.
He had also been making editorial cartoons for Malay Business Insight. Before that, he was published in the People’s Journal, Kabayan and the Manila Times, according to a report by Rappler.
He was an awardee of the Gawad para sa Sining Biswal of the Cultural Center of the Philippines and was holder of the Fernando Amorsolo and Guillermo Tolentino Professorial Chairs at the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts, the UP Artists' Circle Fraternity, of which he was a member, said in a statement on his passing.
The fraternity called him "one of the pillars of Social Realism movement in the Philippine art scene [who] was popular for his paintings, murals, and relief prints that depicted the struggles of the masses."
"Some of us would remember him as a thesis adviser, or a techniques and/or figure drawing professor. The people will remember Brod Neil as a National Democratic activist, a cultural worker, and simply a comrade or 'kasama'," it also said.
Doloricon was also chairman emeritus of the Concerned Artists of the Philippines, members of which joined him in signing as petitioners against the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.
"Ang iyong SINING na naglilingkod sa BAYAN ay mananatiling nakaukit sa aming puso at isipan (Your art that served the people will always be etched in our hearts and our minds)," CAP's Cavite chapter said in a tribute to him.