Detail of the Wall of Remembrance at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani, showing names from the first batch of Bantayog Honorees, including that of Jacobo Amatong.
Martinez Street Magsaysay Street Arellano Extension Quezon Avenue Unnamed private road
East end
Katipunan Street
Jacobo Sybico Amatong (October 11, 1936 – September 24, 1984) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, and newspaper publisher from the province of Zamboanga del Norte.[1][2][3] He was best known for founding the Mindanao Observer, a community newspaper which became well-known for criticizing the martial law administration of Ferdinand Marcos, and for being assassinated by uniformed soldiers on September 24, 1984.[4]
Amatong is honored by having his name etched on the wall of remembrance at the Philippines' Bantayog ng mga Bayani, which honors the heroes and martyrs who fought the authoritarian regime.[4] In 2018, Amatong was also identified by the Human Rights Victims' Claims Board as a Motu Proprio human rights violations victim of the Martial Law Era.[5]
He was married to Helen Cadavedo, a government accountant, and had two children together.
Amatong was serving as city councilor of Dipolog from 1970.[6] He worked as an activist in many civic and community organizations, most notably as a member of the Western Mindanao Alliance of Sectoral Organizations-Nationalist Alliance for Justice, Freedom and Democracy (NAJFD).[4] Amatong founded the Mindanao Observer which he served as editor and publisher.[7][8]
Assassination
The night of September 23, 1984, while walking on a street in Barangay Miputak, Amatong and his lawyer friend Zorro Aguilar were shot, leaving Aguilar dead and Amatong rushed to the hospital. He managed to survive for another eight hours before he died in the early morning of the next day, September 24.[9][10][11][12]
Legacy
A street in Dipolog, from the corner of Quezon Avenue in Barangay Miputak to Dipolog Boulevard is named Amatong Street in his honor. It was later expanded eastward to Katipunan Street.
On November 30, 1992, Amatong, alongside Zorro Aguilar and the other 63 martial law victims, were honored and enshrined in the Wall of Remembrance in the Bantayog ng mga Bayani in Quezon City, making up the first batch of martial law martyrs and heroes who were given honor for their respective contributions during the martial rule.
References
^ abRodriguez, Ma. Cristina V.; Malay, Carolina S. (2015). Ang Mamatay Nang Dahil Sa 'Yo: Heroes and Martyrs of the Filipino People in the Struggle Against Dictatorship 1972-1986. Vol. 1. National Historical Commission of the Philippines (published 1 January 2016). ISBN978-971-538-270-0.
