Ronald Llamas

Rolando "Ronald" M. Llamas is a Filipino political analyst, activist, and former political affairs adviser to President Benigno Aquino III. He also served as the president of the Akbayan Citizens' Action Party, where he played an influential role in policy and political advisement.

Education

Llamas studied at the University of Santo Tomas (UST), where he took a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from 1978 to 1982. During his university years, he was actively involved in student publications, serving as a writer for ''Hudyat'' and '' The Flame'', and as features editor of ''The Varsitarian''.

Student activism

While he was on his college years, he became a witness of a violent squatters' area demolition in Tondo, a district of Manila. That time, he had realization that he must start making a difference in the lives of the impoverished and marginalized sectors of Philippine society. He wrote the article "Confessions of a Butcher", a satire about President Ferdinand Marcos and his defense minister Juan Ponce Enrile in a special issue of '' The Flame.'' Soon, the university administration of UST warned the ''Varsitarian'' against publishing articles deemed critical of the Marcos regime, compelling Llamas to give up his editorship.

In 1981, he became the first president of the Faculty of Arts and Letters (AB) Student Council when it was revived upon the lifting of martial law. Llamas wrote the first student constitution in UST, primarily to counteract the meddling of university administration in student affairs. It influenced other colleges in the University Belt to follow suit. Later, the UST Central Student Council was established. As its president, Llamas managed to personally hand over to Pope John Paul II a letter expressing the Filipino students' dissent against the Marcos dictatorship when the Supreme Pontiff first visited the country in 1981, which was published in the ''L'Osservatore Romano'' months later.

Llamas was also instrumental in organizing the Youth for the Advancement of Faith and Justice (YAFJ), an intercollegiate student youth movement that gained prominence and influence in student politics in the University Belt.

Political career

Akbayan

Leaving UST without graduating, Llamas became active in trade unionism, organized labor, and other sectoral groups. He helped in establishing several non-governmental organizations, which focused on different marginalized sectors.

Llamas became active in the campaign for the approval of the party-list law. He is one of the founding members and is first president of Akbayan Citizens' Action Party in 1998, and served as one of the party leaders. In that year's national elections, Akbayan won one seat in the Philippine House of Representatives.

On February 25, 2006, he and other personalities were arrested in Santolan, Quezon City, while leading a protest rally commemorating the 20th anniversary of the first People Power Revolution. Those arrested included sociologist Randy David, lawyer Argee Guevarra, and Akbayan party-list representative Risa Hontiveros. The reason for the arrest was the lack of a permit to rally because President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo revoked all permits after she declared a state of national emergency just a few hours earlier. They were later released with all charges dropped. In May 2006, the Supreme Court declared that these arrests were invalid.

As Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs

He was initially appointed by President Benigno Aquino III as a member of the board of directors of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) in 2010.

In 2011, he was appointed as presidential adviser for political affairs. The choice of President Benigno Aquino III to appoint him surprised some media outlets, as they expected Aquino to appoint from his party, Liberal. Aquino later explained his choice that Akbayan, where Llamas is a member, is a coalition partner of Liberal.

In October 2011, Llamas faced controversy when revealed that he owned an AK-47 rifle, which some considered a firearms violation. He also stated that he will resign if President Aquino questioned him about the issue. In February 2012, after buying pirated DVDs on Circle C Mall in Quezon City, he only got a reprimand from the president.

He was said to have played a significant role during the impeachment of Renato Corona, working in the background as an emissary to key personalities and groups. During his testimony before the Senate impeachment court, Chief Justice Renato Corona accused Llamas of controlling President Benigno Aquino III "by the neck" and that his impeachment is a "left-wing" plot hatched by Llamas and his "leftist" allies to take-over the government. Llamas denied these allegations by saying that “While I suppose I should be flattered that he attributed so much influence to me – which is so untrue – the obvious motivation behind the statement is to once again attribute the dire straits he finds himself in to a supposed conspiracy.” President Aquino defended Llamas and Akbayan from Corona's accusations.

Post-Cabinet Career

After stepping down from his cabinet position, Llamas kept a low profile but remained active in cause-oriented groups. In December 2018, Paolo Duterte accused Llamas as part of a massive opposition network, including several politicians linked with the Liberal Party, Catholic bishops, and private companies, allegedly seeking to oust President Rodrigo Duterte from office. The alleged ouster network includes the popular food chain Jollibee, the long-deceased Catholic bishop Julio Xavier Labayen, and a non-existent catholic bishop named “Arturo Santos”. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana dismissed the allegations made by Duterte and called it as “fake news”.

Llamas became active in the media after the death of Benigno Aquino III in 2021, regularly appearing on talk shows, news programs, and political discussions. He co-hosted One PH’s “‘''Wag Po!''” and Bilyonaryo News Channel’s “''Kwatro Kantos''”.

Llamas has made frequent appearances on shows and podcast like ''Facts First'' with Christian Esguerra, where he shared his perspective on current political events. Notably one of his predictions in the said podcast was then re-electionist Senator Ronald dela Rosa will lose in the 2025 elections, which eventually did not happen (as dela Rosa placed 3rd). Over time, he has become known for offering thoughtful analysis on governance and sharing ideas for tackling some of the country’s most pressing issues. Currently, he is the resident political pundit of One News’ “''Storycon''”.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Llamas, Ronald
Living people
Filipino activists
Akbayan politicians
University of Santo Tomas alumni
Benigno Aquino III administration cabinet members
Benigno Aquino III administration personnel
Year of birth missing (living people)