Antonio Zumel

Antonio De Leon Zumel II In 1990, he was elected Chairperson of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines in absentia, and was a senior adviser to the NDFP negotiating panel from 1994 until his death in 2001.

Early life Zumel was born into a comfortable family in Laoag, Ilocos Norte to Antonio Zumel Sr., a lawyer with his own practice, and Basilisa de Leon, former school teacher,

He described his father as having a "relatively good law practice," which allowed him to send his children to a private school, the Holy Ghost Academy, for elementary education. His parents taught him the virtues of "honesty and integrity," and were against extravagance of any kind.

Zumel's father died in 1945 when he was 13 years old. His father's death left a toll on the family, and his mother struggled to raise him and his siblings. Basilisa de Leon had to sell her jewelry, and eventually, parcels of land that the family had bought over the years.

To support his studies, he took up odd-jobs to make an income.

Zumel opened the NPC to the growing mass movement, eventually allowing it to become some sort of a headquarters of the Movement for a Democratic Philippines. During and after the First Quarter Storm of 1970, the NPC served as a refuge for mass leaders from police and military assault, and as an open space for press conferences. Ang Bayan also began featuring human interest stories and letters to the editor during Zumel's time as editor-in-chief.

Later years and death In 1998, Zumel suffered a severe stroke that caused partial paralysis. He underwent rehabilitation for a few months before he could move again. In 1999, He was survived by his wife Mela Castillo, and two of his children, Veronica and Malaya.

Personal life As a journalist working for the Herald, Zumel was awarded a house-and-lot unit on Newsmen's Row in Project 8, Quezon City. However, Zumel opted to allow a bedridden colleague live in the house. Zumel recounted in 1986 that he was divorced from his first wife Virginia V. Zumel "due to a lack of political and personal compatibility, in large part because of [his] own faults and shortcomings."

Detail of the Wall of Remembrance at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani, showing names from the 2016 batch of Bantayog Honorees, including that of Antonio Zumel. Contemporaries described Zumel as "a loyal friend" that was "easygoing, friendly, and fun-loving, with a fondness for music and a healthy sense of humor." He found his passion in journalism, which his sister described as "his niche in life." with the goal of "keeping Antonio Zumel's memory, journalistic examples and ethics alive." It also conducts training programs and research into the conditions of journalists and press-related issues.

In 2016, his name was added to the Bantayog ng mga Bayani, recognizing his role as a veteran journalist and key personality in the NDFP.