Jacobo Sybico Amatong (October 11, 1936 – September 24, 1984) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, and newspaper publisher from the province of Zamboanga del Norte.

[1][2][3] He was best known for founding the Mindanao Observer, a community newspaper which became well-known for criticizing the martial law administration of Ferdinand Marcos, and for being assassinated by uniformed soldiers on September 24, 1984.

[5] Amatong was born on October 11, 1936, in Dipolog, Province of Zamboanga to Amando Borja Amatong and Felicidad Mabanag Sybico who were founders of Andres Bonifacio College, a well-regarded institution in the region.

[7][8] The night of September 23, 1984, while walking on a street in Barangay Miputak, Amatong and his lawyer friend Zorro Aguilar were shot, leaving Aguilar dead and Amatong rushed to the hospital.

He managed to survive for another eight hours before he died in the early morning of the next day, September 24.