Muling umingay ang pangalan ni Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairman Prospero “Popoy” de Vera III sa naging pahayag niya na posibleng matanggal ang Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) sa listahan ng mga unibersidad at kolehiyo na nakikinabang sa Universal Access to Tertiary Quality Education Act of 2017 dahil ang kasalukuyang PLM president na si Emmanuel Leyco ay walang doctoral degree.
Si De Vera, batay sa ncpag.upd.edu.ph ay nagtapos ng Doctor of Public Administration mula sa University of the Philippines; M.A. Social Science, mula sa De La Salle University at B.A. History sa University of the Philippines.
Pero ‘ika nga, kung gaano ka-astig si Popoy laban kay Leyco, siya namang “bahag ng kanyang buntot” sa kaso ng kanyang kapatid na si Adora Faye De Vera,66, isang martial law survivor, na inaresto ng mga awtoridad noong 24 Agosto 2022 sa isang bahay sa Maalahanin Street at Teacher’s Village East in Quezon City.
Agad na dumistansya si Popoy sa kanyang ate na si Adora Faye na nahaharap sa mga kasong “rebellion, multiple murders at multiple frustrated murders with the use of explosives, particularly land mines.”
Sa isang kalatas, sinabi ni Popoy noong 25 Agosto:
“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.
As a sibling, I hope and pray for her safety and good health in detention as she faces the cases filed against her.
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.”
Taliwas sa pagtalikod ni Popoy sa kanyang ate, nanawagan noon ang anak ni Adora na si Non, na ibalik sa Maynila ang kanyang ina upang matiyak ang kanyang kaligtasan habang nagpapagamot sa sakit na chronic asthma at mga komplikasyon.
Nangangamba aniya ang pamilya nila sa kaligtasan ni Adola lalo na’t may nangyaring serye ng “tokhang-style killings’ ng mga prominenteng aktibista, karamiha’y matatanda at sakitin na at tinatakan ng mga pulis at military bilang mga lider ng Communist Party of the Philippines at New People’s Army.
Umapela rin noon ang mga kaanak at ilang organisasyon para gawaran ng compassionate release ni Pangulong Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. si Adora Faye dahil mahina ang kanyang kalusugan at kailangan ng kagyat na atensyong medikal.
Si Adora Faye ay isang simbolo ng torture at panggagahasa sa kababaihang detenidong politikal noong martial law.
“Adora’s political imprisonment reopens festering wounds yet presents a tremendous challenge to the new President to show he is not incapable of righting the wrongs of the past and that his mantra of unity during the elections is not a hollow message to sidestep his family’s brutal and corrupt history,”sabi ni Fides Lim, pinuno ng grupong Kapatid.
Iminungkahi noon ni Lim na ilagay si Adora, 66, sa legal custody ni Popoy
“The very reasons that Prof. de Vera announced to distance himself from his sister could ironically provide the same rationale why he fits the bill as a guarantor,” giit ni Lim.
“Who better guarantor than a brother who has red-tagged his sister to prove in his own words that he neither ‘shares her views nor supports her actions’ and ‘fully supports the government in its efforts to end the communist insurgency,’” dagdag niya.
Ang katapatan at kahalagahan ng kasaysayan ay nagtapos aniya kay Popoy dahil mas mahalaga sa kanya ang loyalty kay FM Jr.
“Fealty and the value of history apparently end for him where loyalty to Marcos is more important. But the chair of higher education should be reminded that a cardinal principle of the system of justice is the presumption of innocence,” dagdag niya.