Dante Jimenez, the founding chairman of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) and chairman of the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), passed away on Friday night.

VACC president Arsenio “Boy” Evangelista said on Saturday that Jimenez, 68, died of aortic aneurysm.

“With deep sorrow, the family announces the passing away of Dante La. Jimenez, PACC Chairman due to Aortic Aneurysm at 9:43 pm, Friday, January 29, 2021. We ask for your prayers for the eternal repose of a man who devoted his life in the crusade against crime and corruption and for good governance. We will miss him so dearly. May he rest in peace. A passionate anti crime crusader & loving family man . Please join the family in prayers for his eternal rest,” Evangelista shared in a Facebook post.

An official statement from the Jimenez family stated:  “We ask for your prayers for the eternal repose of a man who devoted his life in the crusade against crime and corruption and for good governance. We will miss him so dearly. May he rest in peace.”

In its own statement, the VACC said it was mourning the loss of “a tenacious crusader for justice” who “devoted his life to an advocacy against crime and corruption, and an espousal of good governance.”

“He believed that justice is not for the privileged few but for all. Our country has lost a crusader of historic stature,” the group added.

Malacañang sent its condolences to Jimenez’s family, saying he shared President Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign against drugs, crime and corruption.

“PACC Chair Jimenez spent most of his productive life advocating a just and peaceful society for Filipinos by fighting criminality and corruption,” said Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.

Established in October 2017 from the issuance of Executive Order No. 43 by Duterte, the PACC’s mandate is to “to directly assist the President in investigating and/or hearing administrative cases primarily involving graft and or corruption against all presidential appointees.”

Jimenez was also appointed co-chairman of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD) on February 2020 after Vice President Leni Robredo was fired from the position.