Jesus Antonio M. Carpio

Jesus Antonio Matamorosa Carpio (October 25, 1931 – May 26, 2010, sometimes referred to as J. Antonio Carpio) was a Filipino lawyer, journalist, educator, author, and army officer best known for his term as director of the Philippines' National Bureau of Investigation from 1986 to 1989, and for his earlier work in resisting the authoritarian rule of Ferdinand Marcos - first as a radio commentator prior to the declaration of Martial Law, and then later as the Regional Coordinator for Bicol of the Free Legal Assistance Group; which provided legal support to the regime's political detainees.

Family On May 4, 1954, Carpio married Bernardita Alcantara Zalazar (1933–1994) of Lucena. They had 14 children, of which three were female and eleven were male. Two of his sons became priests and four of them became lawyers. His eldest daughter Dr. Maria Victoria Carpio-Bernido was honored as a 2010 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee alongside her husband Dr. Christopher C. Bernido for their work in science education.

Education Carpio studied law at the University of the Philippines College of Law for two years and then finished his studies at the San Beda College of Law. He took the bar exam in 1962 and placed 14th among all the examinees nationwide.

Military service Carpio spent his early professional years as an officer in the Philippine Army in the 1950s while he was taking up his law studies. He was first commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1953, and eventually rose through the ranks to become a Captain before he passed the bar exam in 1962.

KMTD and the Daet Massacre

Carpio was jailed for a second time in July 1981, alongside civic leader Grace Vinzons Magana of Camarines Norte, because he was chair of the Kilusang Mamamayan para sa Tunay na Demokrasya (KMTD) which organized a 3,000-person protest that took place in Daet, Camarines Norte on June 14, 1981.

Some 30 troopers of the 242nd Philippine Constabulary (PC) company tried to stop the protest, but the demonstrators, composed mostly of farmers and their relatives, pleaded to be allowed to proceed. The soldiers responded by firing upon the protesters. When the soldiers ceased shooting. At least four of the marchers were killed on the spot and some 50 others were wounded, and Carpio and Magana were arrested.

The shooting came to be known as the Daet massacre.

After political pressure forced Marcos to release Carpio from jail, Carpio continued to resist the dictatorship as head of FLAG-Bicol. The others honored during Carpio's batch included Ata Manobo triber leader Manuel “Buyog” Sampiano, and Carpio's close friend Luis General Jr. The formal citations for the heroism of Carpio and General Jr. were read by former Philippine vice president Leni Robredo during the conferment ceremony.