Fidel Agcaoili

Fidel V. Agcaoili ( – ), also known as Ka Fidel, was a Filipino activist and revolutionary. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Philippines' Central Committee, along with Jose Maria Sison and Luis Jalandoni during the Marcos dictatorship.

Early life and activism Agcaoili was born to an "upper class family" and "could have easily attained an endless series of high positions in the ruling system.

Agcaoili first became a student at the University of the Philippines Diliman in the early 1960s, taking up Political Science. As a freshman, he was first exposed to activism when he became a member of the Student Cultural Association of the University of the Philippines (SCAUP). As a member of SCAUP, he encouraged his friends and neighbors in Philamlife Homes to join in mass actions organized by SCAUP. He also joined a fraternity in UP, encouraging his fraternity brods to be politically active.

Norberto Basilio, who would eventually become the Philippine ambassador to Greece and Bangladesh introduced Agcaoili to Jose Maria Sison and Julie de Lima. Agcaoili joined a Marxist study organized by Sison, Agcaoili was involved in "discreet" action as part of the CPP. Although he did not take an active part, he was present in the Battle of Mediola on January 30, 1970. Agcaoili and Satur Ocampo were also involved in aiding Victor Corpus' defection to the New People's Army, assisting in the 1970 raid of the Philippine Military Academy raid in Baguio. He was also reportedly involved in the purchase of the M/V Karagatan, which was used by the New People's Army in an attempt to land arms in Palanan, Isabela, and the M/V Doña Andrea II in a similar attempt in 1974.

Arrest and detention Agcaoili and his family were eventually arrested on May 12, 1974, in Balicon Subdivision, Calasiao, Pangasinan. Agcaoili and Ocampo collated the names and experiences of some 10,000 victims of human rights abuses during the Marcos dictatorship and brought the case to court in Hawaii. On September 1, 1992, when both sides adopted the Hague Joint Declaration as the framework of the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations, Agcaoili assumed the role of Vice Chairperson of the NDFP Negotiating Panel. in time for the resumption of peace talks under Rodrigo Duterte. Agcaoili was cremated on July 30 in Crematorium Daelwijck in Utrecht, and was sent to the Philippines for burial. A tribute was also streamed live over the internet on August 8, 2020, on what was to be Agcaoili's 76th birthday.

Agcaoili was survived by his wife Rosario, five children, and multiple grandchildren.

Legacy The Communist Party of the Philippines called Agcaoili "one of the most beloved and respected leaders of the Party, the NDFP, and the Filipino people." It also declared August 8 as a "National Day of Remembrance and Tribute" to Agcaoili. Jorge "Ka Oris" Madlos, spokesperson for the New People's Army, stated that Agcaoili's "life, his militance, commitment and determination to advance the revolutionary struggle for national freedom and social liberation will forever serve as inspiration for all Red fighters of the NPA and for the Filipino people."

SELDA released a joint statement alongside other human rights organizations, praising Agcaoili as a "staunch champion and defender of human rights." They described him as"blunt, yet funny; serious and gentle, and always imparting lessons from his life in the revolutionary struggle."

Contemporaries remembered Agcaoili as taking on the smallest details, such as making travel arrangements and picking up consultants at the airports, despite his high-ranking position. Former Quezon City mayor Herbert Bautista, who was also a part of the GRP Panel, called Agcaoili "funny, but firm and serious on the negotiating table." Idun Tvedt, the Royal Norwegian Special Envoy to the Philippine Peace Process, said Agcaoili was "a professional and dedicated negotiator in the search for a peace solution to the armed conflict in the Philippines." Her predecessor, Elisabeth Slattum, called him a negotiator "with great dedication and heart for the cause." The Workers World Party also sent its "deepest condolences and firm solidarity", saying his " lifelong dedication to organizing working and oppressed people must be held high as an example and inspiration for revolutionaries around the world and in particular the youth."

Journalists remembered him as "always eager to clarify issues." Danny Buenafe called him the "toughest" between him, Sison, and Jalandoni.