Ronalyn V. Olea

Stories from Ronalyn V. Olea

ABS-CBN Dismisses Workers Who Refused Downgraded Contracts
Ronalyn V. Olea
Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

MANILA - Johnny, not his real name, has been working as a cameraman for ABS-CBN's current affairs program for 22 years. On June 18, he was told by security guards that he is among those who have been banned from entering the company premises.

Political Comeback of Marcos Family Alarming – Victims of Martial law
Ronalyn V. Olea
Monday, May 24th, 2010

On April 27, 1977, urban poor leader Trinidad Herrera-Ripuno was arrested in Katipunan, Quezon City by virtue of an arrest and search and seizure order (ASSO) of then President Ferdinand Marcos. She was made to suffer brutal torture, which was meant to break her determination and spirit.

Progressives on Warpath Vs Partylist Groups Allied with Arroyos
Ronalyn V. Olea
Marya Salamat
Monday, April 5th, 2010

MANILA - Makabayan senatorial candidates Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza have filed a petition before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) seeking to disqualify Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel 'Mikey' Arroyo as a nominee of party list group Ang Galing Pinoy (AGP).

At Last, Philippines Now Has Law Against Torture
Human-rights advocates welcome the signing into law of Republic Act 9745, which penalizes acts of torture in the Philippines. The challenge now, they say, is for the Arroyo administration to effectively implement it, given its sordid human-rights record.
Ronalyn V. Olea
Saturday, November 21st, 2009

MANILA - Twenty-three years after the Philippine government ratified the Convention Against Torture (CAT), a domestic law penalizing acts of torture in the country was finally passed last week when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed Republic Act 9745 or the Anti-Torture Law.

The United Nations' Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) mandates state party to the convention to "take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction."

Bishop, Nuns View Recent Killing of Priest, Others as Worse Than During Martial Law
Ronalyn V. Olea
Sunday, September 27th, 2009

The murder earlier this month of a Catholic priest, Father Cecilio Lucero, has enraged leaders of the Catholic Church. "I cannot stomach what Malacañang is doing," said recently retired Lingayen Archbishop Oscar Cruz of the extrajudicial killings in the Philippines. "It seems they do not fear God."

MANILA - As the Philippines marks tomorrow, Sept. 21, the 37th anniversary of the declaration of martial law that ushered in one of its darkest periods, religious leaders are convinced that the Arroyo regime is proving to be much worse than the Marcos dictatorship.

10 Years On, VFA Only Served US Interests
Ronalyn V. Olea
Thea Ayla P. Banag
Alexander Martin Remollino
Saturday, May 30th, 2009

Has the VFA served its avowed purpose? Or has it only reinforced the unequal alliance between the Philippines and the United States, a relationship so tilted in the Americans' favor that to call the VFA a treaty - with all the word's connotation of equal rights, benefits and privileges - would be a travesty?

MANILA - On May 27, 1999, the Philippine Senate passed the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines and the United States. Then president Joseph Estrada soon after signed the agreement.