Nineteen years ago, Atty. Romeo T. Capulong helped lay the foundations of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers with a clear vision of what it means to be a people’s lawyer.
At our founding congress, he reminded us:
“There is nothing more fulfilling than to be devoted to defending our clients and people who work for social change. We shall be with them as they embark on militant actions, engage in empowering undertakings and in the process, strengthen and further unite their ranks. Our commitment to our struggling people is what makes us people’s lawyers.”
Those words remain at the heart of NUPL today.
For Atty. Capulong, people’s lawyering was never simply about representing clients in court. It meant standing with them in their struggles—defending their rights while recognizing their agency, their collective strength, and their aspirations for social change.
For nineteen years, generations of NUPL lawyers, law students, paralegals, and human rights defenders have tried to carry that commitment forward: in courtrooms and detention centers, on picket lines and in communities, wherever the law is needed by those who have the least access to its protection.
Today, on NUPL’s 19th founding anniversary, we remember our founding chairperson and the path he challenged us to continue walking.
May we remain worthy of that legacy.
Be the best lawyers money cannot buy.
Mabuhay ang NUPL!
Mabuhay ang mga abogado ng bayan!
