House holds Acop memorial service today

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives will hold a memorial service today for the late Antipolo congressman Romeo Acop, who succumbed to a heart attack a few days before Christmas.

A requiem mass will be held at the Batasang Pambansa complex at 9 a.m., followed by the memorial service at the House plenary hall at 10 a.m.

The Philippine flag was put at half-mast out of respect for Acop, who headed the House committee on transportation and co-headed other committees including the quad comm before he died.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our dear brother congressman Romeo Acop, a true-blue and brave public servant who carried with him his unwavering principles. He is the perfect example of one who has integrity in public service,” Speaker Faustino Dy III said.

“In every public office he held, he made crystal clear what he stood for, and held the law and his principles for the sake of our countrymen, fully aware of his powers and responsibilities, and never used these as a privilege,” the Speaker added.

Acop – a member of the Philippine Military Academy’s Magiting Class of 1970 – resigned from the Philippine National Police as a two-star general in 2001, then ran as congressman in 2010.