Radio Veritas Asia traces its origins to December 1958, when delegates of the Southeast Asian Bishops' Conference unanimously resolved to establish a radio station serving
Southeast Asia. Eleven years later, on April 11, 1969, Radio Veritas was inaugurated. The
Federation of Asian Bishops' Conference (FABC) assumed operational oversight of Radio Veritas Asia (RVA) starting in 1970. This responsibility was formally confirmed by the FABC General Assembly in 1974. In the early hours of November 7, 1985, Radio Veritas journalist Jun Taña survived a stabbing attack by two assailants while he was walking home. Since 1991, the annual magazine of RVA's
Urdu Service has been housed in the office building of WAVE Studio in Lahore, Pakistan. A majority of the Urdu Service's programs are also recorded at this studio.
Role in the People Power Revolution During the 1986
People Power Revolution,
Camp Crame emerged as a key rallying site for protesters. In February 1986, allegations of election fraud during the
1986 Philippine presidential election sparked nationwide unrest. Mass protests ensued, including the
Tagumpay ng Bayan rally at
Rizal Park on February 16, and a boycott of businesses linked to Ferdinand Marcos' regime. Amid the turmoil, the
Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM), led by Defense Secretary
Juan Ponce Enrile, attempted a coup by seizing
Camp Aguinaldo. After learning Marcos' forces had uncovered the plot, Enrile invited Philippine Constabulary Chief
Fidel Ramos to join the rebellion. Ramos agreed, and the two held a press conference at Camp Aguinaldo to announce their withdrawal of support for Marcos. Following the event, Ramos returned to Camp Crame, while Enrile remained at Camp Aguinaldo. Through Radio Veritas, anti-Marcos activist
Butz Aquino and Cardinal
Jaime Sin broadcast urgent appeals to the public after Enrile and Ramos publicized their defection. With the permission of journalist Jun Taña, Aquino spoke via telephone from Camp Aguinaldo once Ramos and Enrile's second press conference had ended, calling for a march from an Isetann department store in Quezon City to the camp. Some minutes after, Sin went on the air to urge Filipinos to form a human barricade along
EDSA between the two camps to shield the defectors from Marcos' military. Radio Veritas experienced two attacks against its transmitter by the military: in the early morning of February 23 and the evening of February 24. Although the transmitter was already destroyed in the initial attack, soldiers returned the day after due to subsequent broadcasts from
Radyo Bandido by
June Keithley and other journalists reporting on the revolution. The station later expanded its outreach by adopting new technologies, including internet streaming and webcasting, while planning a transition to digital broadcasting. From 2007 to June 2011, the station received over 30,000 listener letters from Pakistan, 3,500 from
India, and 500 from other countries. On October 9, 2011, RVA's Urdu Service hosted its 11th Listeners' Conference in Lahore, attended by over 80 participants nationwide. The service aired 13 daily programs in Urdu, reaching audiences in Pakistan and India, under the leadership of studio director Father Nadeem John Shakir. The 15th Catholic Radio Listeners' Conference was held on September 21, 2015, at Lahore's Loyola Hall, drawing 120 attendees. Bishop
Joseph Arshad of
Faisalabad, head of the Commission for Social Communications, emphasized the role of radio in fostering peace, tolerance, and brotherhood. RVA's shortwave transmissions officially ceased on June 30, 2018. ==Funding==