Commission on Higher Education chairperson Prospero “Popoy” De Vera distanced himself from his sister who was arrested anew due to rebellion charges in Quezon City.
His sister Adora Faye De Vera, a martial law survivor, was arrested on August 24.
This would be her third time to be detained and the second time under a Marcos administration.
Adora, who has been the face of women’s struggle under martial law in the Philippines, is accused of multiple murders and multiple frustrated murders with the use of explosives, particularly land mines.
She is also facing rebellion charges in a separate case.
News about her arrest soon reached her younger brother, Prospero, an appointee of both administrations of Rodrigo Duterte and Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
In a statement on August 25, he distanced himself from Adora’s political views and actions.
The CHED official also noted that he had not spoken with her for more than 25 years.
“I have not seen her and I have not spoken to her for more than 25 years since she decided to rejoin the underground movement. I do not share her views nor support her actions,” Prospero said.
He also sent well wishes for her as his “sibling.”
“As a sibling, I hope and pray for her safety and good health in detention as she faces the cases filed against her,” Prospero said.
He then ended his statement with his declaration of support for Marcos Jr.’s anti-insurgency campaign.
“I fully support the administration of President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. in its efforts to end the communist insurgency that has destroyed so many lives and property. I will let the law take its course in resolving the charges against her,” Prospero said.
READ: CHED chairperson Popoy De Vera releases a statement on the arrest of his sister Adora Faye by police in Quezon City last Wednesday.
“I have not seen her & spoken to her for more than 25 years… I do not share her views nor support her actions.” pic.twitter.com/RNA42L0vVN
— Anjo Bagaoisan (@anjo_bagaoisan) August 25, 2022
Intelligence operatives from the Western Visayas regional police apprehended Adora in a house on Maalahanin Street at Teacher’s Village East in Quezon City last Wednesday, according to the police.
She was then transferred to the police station in the town of Calinog in Iloilo where she still remains as of writing.
Who is Adora Faye?
Adora, who’s also known as “Dong” to her family and friends, was among the women victims under the dictatorship who was abducted, tortured and raped by military personnel.
In her profile from “Martial Law Files”, an online archive of prominent victims and events that transpired during martial law, she and two of her companions Rolando Morallos and Flora Coronacion were abducted and taken to a safe house by military forces on October 1, 1976.
Her abductees were said to be “combined ununiformed forces of Military Intelligence Security Group, Constabulary Security Unit and 231st PC Company in Quezon province.”
Adora and her two companions were captured and tortured to supposedly extract information about the communist insurgency at that time.
The repeated rape and torture they went through in the hands of more than 14 men in different safe houses were detailed in her interview with Gloria Esguerra Melencio here: Adora Faye de Vera | Martial Law Files (wordpress.com).
Adora was also apprehended again in 1983.
Her detention for the third time prompted progressive rights groups and concerned Filipinos to campaign for her immediate release and return to Manila, citing health reasons.
𝐆𝐀𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐋𝐀 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐚 𝐅𝐚𝐲𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 #DefendFilipinoWomen#FreeOurSisters#FreeAdoraFayeDeVera pic.twitter.com/Ao5kcyTEDe
— GABRIELA | A National Alliance of Women (@gabrielaphils) August 28, 2022
Kapatid and the family of Adora Faye de Vera, who became a symbol of torture and rape of women political prisoners during martial law, are appealing for her humanitarian release and immediate return to Manila to ensure her safety and to get urgent medical treatment. pic.twitter.com/mWZZTDmBoO
— KAPATID (@kapatidPP) August 28, 2022
