Senate Pro Tempore Panfilo "Ping" Lacson mourned on Sunday, 21 December, the death of Antipolo City 2nd District Rep. Romeo Acop.

Acop, 78, died Saturday evening, 20 December, according to official police reports. The lawmaker was found lying on the floor with his duty nurse. He was brought to Assumption Hospital at 10:20 p.m., but was pronounced dead at 10:56 p.m.

In a statement, Lacson lamented the passing of Acop, whom he called a "dear friend, cavalier, upperclassman, and adviser."

Lacson said he began working closely with the Antipolo lawmaker in their "sincere efforts" to reform the Philippine National Police (PNP) when the senator was still chief.

"It was his original recommendation to download 85 percent of the PNP's financial and logistical resources to our frontline units, while leaving only 15 percent to headquarters as an integral part of the PNP reformation program," he said.

"Our friendship grew even stronger when I became senator in 2001, and he was elected district representative of Antipolo City nine years later, in 2010," he added.

Acop attended the Philippine Military Academy, graduating in the 1970 Magiting batch. He served as representative for Antipolo's 2nd District from 2010 to 2019, and again from 2022 until his death.

As a police official, he served in the PNP as chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group from 1994 to 1995.

He first raised alarms over “Mary Grace Piattos” and other suspicious names found on acknowledgement receipts for the confidential funds of Vice President Sara Duterte. He also questioned the late Department of Public Works and Highways Undersecretary Cathy Cabral for failing to identify the law that created the agency's charter.