Ronald Llamas

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Ronald Llamas
Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs
In office
January 20, 2011 – June 30, 2016
PresidentBenigno Aquino III
Preceded byGabriel Claudio
Succeeded byFrancis Tolentino
Member of the Board of Directors of the Development Bank of the Philippines
In office
June 30, 2010 – January 20, 2011
President of Akbayan
In office
1998–2010
Personal details
NationalityFilipino
Political partyAkbayan
Alma materUniversity of Santo Tomas (BA in Journalism, 1978–1982)
OccupationPolitical analyst, consultant
Known for
    • Former Presidential Political Adviser;
    • Former President of Akbayan

Rolando "Ronald" M. Llamas[1] is a Filipino political analyst, activist, and former political affairs adviser to President Benigno Aquino III.[2] He also served as the president of the Akbayan Citizens' Action Party, where he played an influential role in policy and political advisement.[3]

Education

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Llamas studied at the University of Santo Tomas (UST), where he took a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from 1978 to 1982.[4] 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.[5]

Student activism

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While he was on his college years, he became a writer.[4] Llamas started working for the Faculty of Arts and Letters (AB) Student Council during 1981 as their leader.[6]

Political career

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Akbayan

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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,[7][8] and served as one of the party leaders.[8] 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. 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.[9][10] They were later released with all charges dropped. In May 2006, the Supreme Court declared that these arrests were invalid.[11]

As Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs

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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.[12]

In 2011, he was appointed as presidential adviser for political affairs.[2] The choice of President Benigno Aquino III to appoint him surprised some media outlets. Aquino later explained his choice that Llamas is a member of his coalition.[8]

In October 2011, Llamas faced controversy when revealed that he owned an AK-47 rifle, which some considered a firearms violation.[13] He also stated that he will resign if President Aquino questioned him about the issue.[14] In February 2012, after buying pirated DVDs on Circle C Mall in Quezon City, he only got a reprimand from the president.[15]

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.[16] 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.[17] 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."[18] President Aquino defended Llamas and Akbayan from Corona's accusations.[19]

Post-Cabinet career

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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.[20] 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".[21] Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana dismissed the allegations made by Duterte and called it "fake news".[22]

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 podcasts like Facts First with Christian Esguerra, where he shared his perspective on current political events. Notably, one of his forecasts in the said podcast was that then re-electionist Senator Ronald dela Rosa would lose in the 2025 elections, which eventually did not happen (as dela Rosa placed 3rd).[23] 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”. He currently pens a weekly newspaper column for the The Philippine Star, under the title The Political Heckler. [24]He also write a weekly column for Abante.

References

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  1. ^ "Government Directory, 2013" (PDF).
  2. ^ a b Jimenez-David, Rina (September 1, 2011). "An unusual arrangement". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  3. ^ "On President Aquino's choice of Akbayan Leader Ronald Llamas as Presidential Adviser - Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières". www.europe-solidaire.org. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Torrevillas, Domini M. (September 8, 2011). "Beyond partisan politics". Philstar.com. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  5. ^ Santos, Tomas (November 17, 2008). "The spirit of people power". varsitarian.net. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  6. ^ Santos, Tomas (April 4, 2009). "Voice of political change". varsitarian.net. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  7. ^ "On President Aquino's choice of Akbayan Leader Ronald Llamas as Presidential Adviser - Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières". www.europe-solidaire.org. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c Calica, Aurea (January 21, 2011). "Akbayan head named Noy adviser". Philstar.com. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  9. ^ "Professor, 2 others nabbed (2:29 p.m.)". Sun.Star. February 24, 2006. Retrieved June 27, 2007.
  10. ^ "Police arrest UP prof, Akbayan leader". ABS-CBN Corporation. February 24, 2006. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved June 27, 2007.
  11. ^ "David v. Arroyo, G.R. No. 171396, 3 May 2006". Archived from the original on April 4, 2008.
  12. ^ "PNoy names party-list group president as political adviser". GMA News Online. January 20, 2011. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  13. ^ Avendaño, Christine O. (October 11, 2011). "Llamas says AK-47 for self-defense". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  14. ^ "Political adviser Llamas willing to resign". Philstar.com. October 11, 2011. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  15. ^ Escudero, Malou (February 5, 2012). "Llamas sinermunan lang" [Llamas only reprimanded]. The Philippine Star (in Filipino). Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  16. ^ "Kaugnay sa kaso ni Corona: Llamas, itinangging naging emisaryo siya ng Palasyo sa INC". GMA News Online (in Filipino). January 31, 2012. Retrieved March 21, 2025.
  17. ^ "Corona: 'I've done no wrong, I did not steal'". GMA News Online. May 22, 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  18. ^ Porcalla, Delon (May 24, 2012). "Llamas says Corona diverting real impeachment issue". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  19. ^ Porcalla, Delon (May 26, 2012). "P-Noy stands by Llamas anew issue". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  20. ^ "Robredo, Jollibee, PLDT, bishops, Jesuit-educated millennials part of oust Duterte plot, Paolo Duterte says". December 7, 2018.
  21. ^ Malasig, Jeline (December 10, 2018). "Paolo Duterte tagged 3 bishops as destabilizers, but one is non-existent". Interaksyon. Retrieved February 18, 2025.
  22. ^ Talabong, Rambo (December 10, 2018). "Paolo Duterte's anti-administration list 'fake news' – Lorenzana". Rappler. Retrieved February 18, 2025.
  23. ^ Christian Esguerra (September 29, 2024). Llamas prediction: Bato will lose!. Retrieved May 19, 2025 – via YouTube.
  24. ^ Llamas, Ronald (July 22, 2025). "The Political Heckler". The Philippine Star. Retrieved February 18, 2025.