KMU calls on Aquino to reopen Olalia case
The Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) has called on President Benigno Aquino III to revive the case against alleged masterminds of the gruesome murder of labor leader Rolando Olalia and his driver Leonor Alay-ay 25 years ago.
KMU chairperson Elmer Labog expressed confidence that with the way the government and law enforcement authorities are handling unsolved cases during past administrations, the perpetrators of the Olalia murder will be finally brought to justice.
“Now that the wind of justice is prevailing in the country, we expect that long-awaited justice will finally be served for the families of Olalia and Alay-ay,” said Labog in a press statement.
On Nov. 13, 1986, Olalia and Alay-ay were found dead in Antipolo, Rizal. Their bodies were mutilated beyond recognition and the scar on Olalia’s leg was the only identifying mark that confirmed the labor leader’s identity.
RAM suspects
Several ranking leaders of the Rebolusyonaryong Alyansang Makabansa (RAM), were charged with murder in connection with Olalia’s death.
Some officers, 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.”
They 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.
In 2009, the Supreme Court dismissed their petition and ordered the filing of murder charges against the two but until now, the Antipolo City Regional Trial Court has yet to conduct the raffle of the case.
“No one seems to want to handle the case,” said Rolando Rico, a ranking KMU official, adding that the judge who initially got the case inhibited himself and it’s been a year and the case has not been raffled.
“Just like the Philip Pestaño case, we are confident that the government will also move for the reopening of the Olalia murder case which, hopefully, would lead to the arrest and conviction of the accused,” Labog said.
Labog was referring to the Ombudsman’s decision to file murder charges against 10 officials of the Philippine Navy for the murder of Pestaño, who was earlier claimed to have committed suicide while onboard a Navy ship where he was assigned as stock master.
