• 6 AUGUST - *1907 - Gen. Macario Sakay, one of the Filipino military leaders who had continued fighting the imperialist United States invaders eight years into the Ph...
    11 years ago

......................................................................................

The Daily Tribune

(Without Fear or Favor)

Specials:

Bulatlat.com

World Wildlife Fund for Nature-Philippines

The Philippines Matrix Project

After 25 years, still no justice for labor leader Rolando Olalia, Leonor Alay-ay

Saturday, November 12, 2011

 After 25 years, still no justice for labor leader Rolando Olalia, Leonor Alay-ay

“It angers us that after 25 years, no one has been punished for the death of an important labor leader in the country’s history. Olalia is a victim of the injustice that he fought against in his entire life.” – KMU
Sidebar: Rolando ‘Ka Lando’ Olalia: hero of workers, good father
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat.com
ANTIPOLO CITY, Rizal – Twenty five years ago, Rolando Rico Olalia was studying law when his father labor lawyer and leader Rolando Olalia was killed.

Rolando, fondly called “Ka Lando” by his colleagues in the labor movement, and his driver Leonor Alay-ay were taken by armed men on the night of November 12, 1986 along Julia Vargas Avenue in Pasig. The next day, their bodies were found. Both of them were hogtied and their mouths stuffed with newspapers. Their bodies bore bruises and stab wounds all over, and both had gunshot wounds in the head.

At that time, Rolando Rico, 22, vowed to get justice for his father. He never thought that it might take a lifetime for the case to be resolved.

Until now, no one has been arrested for the crime. Suspects have yet to be arraigned. The trial has not even begun. “This is burdensome. It is very tiring already,” Rolando Rico, now himself a lawyer, told Bulatlat.com when asked about the case during the activity organized by Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) to commemorate Ka Lando’s 25th death anniversary, Nov. 13.

Rolando Rico, along with lawyers Romeo T. Capulong and Marie Yuviengco of the Public Interest Law Center (PILC), handles the murder charges against 13 suspects, all of whom were members of the Rebolusyonaryong Alyansang Makabansa (RAM), considered as right-wing elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

Rolando Rico joined members of KMU and the National Federation of Labor Unions (Naflu) to the site where Ka Lando and Alay-ay were found, now called Olalia Road in sitio Olalia, barangay Dela Paz of this town.

Long battle
 
Months after the incident, three suspects – Gilberto Galicia, Franco Espartero and Filomeno Maligaya – were charged in separate occasions but the cases were all dismissed for alleged lack of evidence.

Workers commemorate the 25th death anniversary of labor leader Rolando “Ka Lando” Olalia and Leonor Alay-ay.(Photo by Ronalyn V. Olea / bulatlat.com)
Many years later, eyewitness Medardo Baretto surfaced. Another witness Eduardo Bueno stepped forward. Their testimonies became the basis for the filing of murder charges against several RAM members on January 12, 1998.

Charged are: Lt. Col. Eduardo “Red” Kapunan Jr., Oscar Legaspi, Capt. Ricardo Dicon, Sgts. Edgar Sumido, Dennis Jabatan, Gene Paris, Freddie Sumagaysay, Fernando Casanova, Desiderio Perez and Jose Bacera, Chief Petty Officers Cirilo Almario and Filomeno Maligaya and civilian informer Gilberto Garcia.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) panel filed a criminal complaint on March 23, 1998 against the suspects. On August 31, 1998, the Regional Trial Court of Antipolo Branch 71 issued a warrant of arrest for the suspects but none has been apprehended up to now.

Two of the accused, Kapunan and Legaspi, filed separate motions to dismiss the charges against them. They argued that Proclamation No. 347 granted by President Fidel Ramos to rebel soldiers “extinguished their criminal liability.” Kapunan said political assassinations, such as the Olalia-Alay-ay double murder case, could have been part of simulated events intended to create an unstable situation favorable for a coup. ?.... MORE
SourceBulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/11/12/after-25-years-still-no-justice-for-labor-leader-rolando-olalia-leonor-alay-ay/

1 comment

Jesusa Bernardo said...

panahon ni cory daming asasinasyon ng makaliwa, kasama rin diyan si leandro alejandro. hawak ba si cory ng militar at wala siyang magawa? sabagay ang alam ko kung hindi nakialam ang kalbong agila, bagsak na si cory at nagwagi sina enrile/ram. subalit kung tunay siyang pangulo ng bayan, ipagtatanggol niya ang maliliit.

at ang mendiola massacre, wala ba siyang kamay doon? samantalang reporma sa lupa ang hinihingi ng mga iyon...tama ang hacienda luisita na ayaw nilang ibahagi. convergence kasi ng interes nila kahit na sila mismo hindi nagkakasundo kaya hanggang ngayon walang hustisya

"Until now, no one has been arrested for the crime. Suspects have yet to be arraigned. The trial has not even begun. “This is burdensome. It is very tiring already,” Rolando Rico, now himself a lawyer, told Bulatlat.com when asked about the case during the activity organized by Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) to commemorate Ka Lando’s 25th death anniversary, Nov. 13.

"Rolando Rico, along with lawyers Romeo T. Capulong and Marie Yuviengco of the Public Interest Law Center (PILC), handles the murder charges against 13 suspects, all of whom were members of the Rebolusyonaryong Alyansang Makabansa (RAM), considered as right-wing elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)."

Blog Archive