Rolando “Rolly” Abadilla (died June 13, 1996) was a Filipino politician and

Philippine Constabulary The Philippine Constabulary (PC; , ''HPP''; ) was a gendarmerie-type military police force of the Philippines from 1901 to 1991, and the predecessor to the Philippine National Police. It was created by the Insular Government, American occupat ...

(PC) officer best known for heading the PC Metropolitan Command's Intelligence and Security Group under the

dictatorship A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, who hold governmental powers with few to no Limited government, limitations. Politics in a dictatorship are controlled by a dictator, ...

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...

, which became notorious for numerous documented human rights abuses. After Marcos was ousted in the 1986

People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, were a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...

, he was implicated in several coup attempts against President

Corazon Aquino María Corazón "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipino politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines and the first woman president in the country, from Presidency of Corazon ...

but was nevertheless elected to public office as vice governor of

Ilocos Norte Ilocos Norte (), officially the Province of Ilocos Norte (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region. It is located in the northwest corner of Luzon island, bordering Cagayan and Apayao to t ...

. He was assassinated in 1996 by the

Alex Boncayao Brigade The Alex Boncayao Brigade (abbreviated as ABB; also known as the SPARU Unit) was the urban assassination unit of the New People's Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines. Organized in 1984, the unit broke away from the Ne ...

, a communist rebel group.

Early life

Abadilla was born in Espiritu, now Banna, in

, to a merchant family. His mother was a distant relative of

Military career

Abadilla graduated from the

Philippine Military Academy The Philippine Military Academy ( / ) also referred to by its acronym PMA is the premier military academy for Filipinos aspiring for a commission as a military officer of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). It was established on Decembe ...

in 1965 and joined the

special forces.

Operation Merdeka

Abadilla helped train Moro militants as part of a Philippine plot to infiltrate

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...

. He was subsequently accused of involvement in the trainees' murder during the

Jabidah massacre The Jabidah massacre on March 18, 1968, was the assassinations or executions of Moro army recruits who allegedly mutinied upon learning the true nature of their mission. It is acknowledged as a major flashpoint that ignited the Moro insurg ...

in 1968 but was acquitted by a court martial.

Metrocom Intelligence and Security Group

Abadilla later transferred to the PC's

Metrocom Intelligence and Security Group The Metrocom Intelligence and Security Group (MISG) was the branch of the Philippine Constabulary's Metropolitan Command under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos. It was responsible for maintaining peace and order though its unit ta ...

(MISG) and became its head in 1974. The group was notable for human rights abuses during the martial law era against anti-Marcos dissidents, including extrajudicial killings that were eventually known in Filipino slang as " salvagings". Among his deputies were

Reynaldo Berroya Ret. PMGen. Reynaldo "Rey" Ignacio Berroya (born March 11, 1947 – November 15, 2021) was a Filipino retired police officer who served as the Administrator of the Light Rail Transit Authority. Police service Early years Originally from Bula ...

and

Panfilo Lacson Panfilo "Ping" Morena Lacson Sr. (; born June 1, 1948) is a Filipino politician who is a senator-elect of the Philippines. He is also a former police general who served as director general of the Philippine National Police (PNP) from 1999 to 2 ...

. Abadilla was noted for being a favorite military official of Marcos.

Presence during the assassination of Ninoy Aquino

Abadilla was also accused of involvement in the

assassination of Ninoy Aquino Ninoy Aquino, Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., a former Senate of the Philippines, Philippine senator, was assassinated on Sunday, August 21, 1983, on the airport apron, apron of Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Manila International Airport (no ...

in 1983, having been present at the

Manila International Airport Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA ; ; ), also known as Manila International Airport (MIA), is the main international airport serving Metro Manila in the Philippines. Located between the cities of Pasay and Parañaque, about south of ...

, where the murder took place, immediately after the event. During the trial of military officers involved in Aquino's death, a witness who claimed that a soldier shot Aquino also claimed to have seen Abadilla talking to Rolando Galman, who the Marcos government alleged was Aquino's assassin, before he was killed by soldiers for allegedly killing Aquino. Abadilla denied the charges.

Marcos intermediary during the People Power Revolution

During the

in February 1986, Abadilla served as an intermediary of Marcos during negotiations with the rebellion's leaders, defense minister

Juan Ponce Enrile Juan Valentin Furagganan Ponce Enrile Sr., (born Juan Valentin Furagganan; February 14, 1924), also referred to by his initials JPE, is a Filipino politician and lawyer who served as 21st President of the Senate of the Philippines from 2008 to ...

and

Armed Forces of the Philippines The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) () are the military forces of the Philippines. It consists of three main service branches; the Philippine Army, Army, the Philippine Air Force, Air Force, and the Philippine Navy, Navy (including the P ...

deputy chief of staff

Fidel Ramos Fidel Valdez Ramos (; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military officer to reached ...

Coup attempts against Corazon Aquino

After Marcos was ousted, Abadilla was involved in plots to topple the government of President

and restore Marcos to office, including the Siege of the Manila Hotel in July 1986 and the

January 1987 Philippine coup attempt On January 27, 1987, a coup d'état against the government of President of the Philippines, Philippine President Corazon Aquino was staged by civilian and military supporters of Aquino's deposed predecessor, Ferdinand Marcos. The soldiers were ...

. He was arrested for his involvement in the latter coup in July 1987, but was acquitted by a court martial in December 1988.

Political career

Even though imprisoned in 1987, Abadilla ran for Vice Governor of

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

as a candidate of Marcos'

Kilusang Bagong Lipunan The New Society Movement (, KBL), formerly named the New Society Movement of United Nationalists, Liberals, et cetera (, KBLNNL), is a Right-wing politics, right-wing political party in the Philippines. It was first formed in 1978 as an umbrel ...

party and won. He supported efforts to repatriate Marcos' remains following his death in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

in 1989. In

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, he unsuccessfully ran for Governor of Ilocos Norte and lost again in a

congressional A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ad ...

race in the province in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

. Abadilla was also a member of the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission headed by Vice President

Joseph Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor, who served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 until his resignation in 2001. ...

during the administration of Fidel Ramos in the early 1990s.

Personal life

Abadilla was married to Susan Samonte. One of their children, Maria Teresa Abadilla, became a

Regional Trial Court The regional trial courts (RTC; ) are the highest trial courts in the Philippines. In criminal matters, they have original jurisdiction. History It was formerly called as the Court of First Instance since the Spanish colonial period. It cont ...

judge in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

. He also owned a trucking company. Several of his relatives continue to dominate politics in Banna, including his brothers Carlito and Jaime and nephew, Carlito II, who were former mayors of the town.

Assassination

Abadilla was assassinated on June 13, 1996 at age of 54, after being shot in the middle of a traffic jam inside his car along

Katipunan Avenue Katipunan Avenue () is a major avenue in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. It runs north–south from the University of the Philippines Diliman, intersecting with Tandang Sora Avenue at its northernmost point, down to the Manila Philippi ...

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...

. He was shot 31 times using high-caliber pistols. His killing was claimed by the communist

, which cited his role in human rights abuses during the martial law era. Five suspects, who subsequently became known as the "Abadilla 5", were arrested and convicted in 1999, following a controversial legal process that was criticized by

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

for alleged irregularities and usage of torture. Abadilla received a funeral with full military honors.

Popular culture

Abadilla was portrayed by Ray Ventura in the film '' Ping Lacson: Super Cop''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abadilla, Rolando Philippine Constabulary personnel Filipino military officers Filipino police officers Filipino mass murderers Ilocano people People from Ilocos Norte Politicians from Ilocos Norte Year of birth unknown 1996 deaths Assassinated Filipino politicians Asian politicians assassinated in the 1990s Politicians assassinated in 1996 People murdered in the Philippines 20th-century Filipino politicians Filipino anti-communists Deaths by firearm in the Philippines Philippine Military Academy alumni