NDFP mourns the passing away of Atty. Romeo T. Capulong, its chief legal counsel and champion of the exploited and oppressed

National Council
National Democratic Front of the Philippines
17 September 2012

The entire National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) deeply mourns the passing away of Atty. Romeo T. Capulong, its Chief Legal Counsel and champion of the exploited and oppressed. The leadership of the NDFP, all its allied organizations, and the NDFP Negotiating Panel, its consultants and staff, express our deepest gratitude for the invaluable service he rendered through so many years, in the peace negotiations and other fields of people's struggles.

We express our sincerest condolences to his wife, Pia, his children, Alex, Eduardo and Roma Pia, and to other members of his family, his many friends and colleagues in the Philippines and abroad..

Romy, as he was called by his friends and colleagues, was the NDFP Chief Legal Counsel par excellence. In the peace negotiations, he played a key role in the formulation and negotiation of The Hague Joint Declaration, The Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG), The Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) and other bilateral agreements. He made full use of his legal expertise and persuasive powers to bring about consensus even on the most difficult points. Every document in the GRP/GPH-NDFP peace negotiations was checked and reviewed by him.

He was already a legal counsel to the NDFP peace negotiators in 1986-1987. In 1989, he accompanied several peace advocates to the Netherlands. In 1990, he came with Congressman Jose V. Yap for extensive discussions on peace negotiations.

From 1992 until 2008, despite his heavy schedule of defending political prisoners, peasants, workers and others subjected to political repression, he came to assist in peace negotiations. All 12 bilateral agreements from 1992 to 2004 were forged with the invaluable help of his legal expertise and firm stand for the revolutionary movement.