Fabian Ver

Fabian C Ver
GEN Fabian C. Ver AFP
Born	January 20, 1920 Sarrat, Ilocos Norte
Died	November 21, 1998 Bangkok, Thailand
Allegiance	Republic of the Philippines
Service/branch	Philippine Army
Rank	General
Commands held	Armed Forces of the Philippines

Fabian C. Ver (January 20, 1920 – November 21, 1998) was a General and Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines under President Ferdinand Marcos. It is said he was the mastermind of assassination of former Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr.

Military and political career

He was most trusted military officer of then President Ferdinand Marcos as Martial Law was declared on September 21, 1972. and he was also known as Marcos' chief enforcer, and was the highest among the Rolex 12. Ver worked his way up the military ranks, serving in World War IIas an guerrilla intelligence officer and after. He was fiercely loyal to Marcos, and Marcos repaid his loyalty by appointing him as the head of the Presidential Security Group, then known as the Presidential Security Command. When he was due for retirement in 1976, Marcos extended his term indefinitely. He also headed the then National Intelligence and Security Agency (now, the National Intelligence and Coordinating Agency), the spy department of the Philippines, sending government agents to search for anti-Marcos critics.. Ver would be a feared figure during the martial law years, as he was known to take no prisoners and would resort to torture when needed. Martial law was lifted in 1981, and Ver was appointed as chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines over a cousin, Gen. Fidel Valdez Ramos, then the chief of the Philippine Constabulary.

As Marcos disregarded the authority of then Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile on the 1980's, he changed the military chain of command. Under the new chain of command, the authority would evolve from Marcos as president and commander-in-chief of the armed forces up to Ver, the chief of staff of the armed forces.

Thus, Ver increasingly became the second most powerful government official in the country, replacing Enrile who held the status since the imposition of Martial Law on 1972 when Marcos named him as martial law administrator. Ver and Enrile would be often at odds with each other.

Crisis

Ver kept aging officers loyal to himself and also to Marcos on the armed forces, thus making young officers disgruntled. The Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM) was formed by these young officers, led by then Colonel Gregorio Honasan as a result of this. The RAMboys, as they were known in the Philippines, played a key role in Marcos' overthrow. As the Marcos regime grew unpopular during these years, Marcos would be in and out of office due to kidney ailments. Political mismanagement would ensue, culminating with the 1983 assassination of popular oppositionist Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr. upon his return from exile in the United States. Ver was accused of having conspired with a certain Rolando Galman who shot Aquino. The Agrava Commission, an independent fact-finding body put up by Ferdinand Marcos, would have Ver be indicted for the crime, but was subsequently acquitted in 1985 by Marcos. After the tumultuous snap elections on February 7, Marcos announced that he was replacing Ver with Fidel Ramos due to his alleged ties with the Aquino assassination although he tacitly kept Ver in power.

Later life

After the tumultuous snap elections of 1986, the EDSA Revolution would come. Ver advised Marcos to give him orders to fire on the swelling number of protesters, but Marcos stubbornly refused to and dismissed him with a salute. This led to the end of the Marcos regime. Ver went into exile in the United States along with his children. At that time Ver's mistress was banker Edna Camcam.

Ver would not be heard of for a while in spite of allegiations against him by the government. In November 1998, it was revealed that he was terminally ill from emphysema and ailing in Bangkok. He died on November 21 and his remains were brought back to the Philippines. He was buried in his hometown of Sarrat, Ilocos Norte.

See also

• Rolex 12
• Presidential Security Group / Presidential Security Command
• National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA)
• Sterling Seagrave
• University of the Philippines ROTC Unit

External links

• The Filipino Express, 10-27-1994 - Graft cases brought against Ver and Ongpin
• The Filipino Express, 08-27-1998 - Let Ver come home - Erap
• The Filipino Express, 12-13-1998 - Family feud: Quarrel avoided over Ver remains