The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) recognized and honored Dante C. Simbulan as a true patriot and partisan of the Filipino people’s revolution. Simbulan passed away on October 12 in Fairfax County, Virginia at the age of 94.

Simbulan was a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1952. He served as a captain in the Philippine Army and fought against the Hukbong Mapagpalaya ng Bayan (HMB). His exposure to social injustices and military repression awakened his revolutionary spirit.

He became an instructor at the PMA and had the distinction of inviting Jose Maria Sison to give a lecture in 1966 on the mercenary tradition of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Some of his student soldiers later became revolutionaries, including Lt. Crispin Tagamolila and Lt. Victor Corpuz. Tagamolila was martyred as a Red warrior, while Corpuz defected and returned to the AFP in 1986.

For siding with the Filipino people, Simbulan was imprisoned from 1974 to 1977. He was exiled to the US in 1980 and continued his struggle there. He helped organize fellow Filipinos and was instrumental in establishing the Malaya Movement.

“He was a true patriot, a soldier of the people, and a revolutionary whose heart was dedicated to the pursuit of justice and freedom for the Philippines,” the NDFP said.