When he was 11, Ambassador Eddie de Vega’s father was assassinated…

By Cristina DC Pastor

…Today, Eduardo de Vega is the Department of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers supervising the repatriation of Filipinos out of war-infested Gaza-Israel, drawing inspiration from his late dad who had a storied career in government.

Guillermo de Vega was Presidential  Assistant to former President Ferdinand Marcos in 1975 when he was shot dead inside his office in Malacanang Palace. The New York Time says he was a mere 200 yards from Marcos’s office inside the Palace complex when the fatal gunshots were fired, and that Marcos was actually working that day.  Guillermo, also called Gimo, was known to be a hardworking, honest official and a trusted aide of the President. He was given many other responsibilities including chairman of the Board of Censors for Motion Pictures (1969-1975). He was also a published author and a historian.

Gimo’s murder was a crime mystery at that time, with many Filipinos shocked, baffled and angered by the circumstances of how it happened: How was someone carrying a gun allowed entry into the Palace complex, especially with the President working nearby? Was it a random crime or was it an orchestrated rubout because he knew too much? No one really knows until the case turned cold with the passing of the decades and people just stopped asking questions.

Son Eddie de Vega agreed to share his thoughts when sought by The FilAm to comment on a crushing tragedy that happened to his family almost half a century ago.

“Yes, he was assassinated, and it was difficult for us.  Very painful,” he said in an email interview.

There were all sort of rumors coming out like locusts from the political woodwork. But there was nothing that would point directly to his boss, the President.  “It was natural for many to suspect at first, and many friends still do,” he said. “But now even my mom says, clearly it was never proven that Marcos had anything to do with it. There simply is no evidence.”

And while Eddie and his two siblings – older sister Maria Margarita and younger brother Jaime Rafael — were thrown into deep sadness and incomprehension, he used his grief to stay “laser-focused” on his future. “My studies and hobbies (sports, movies, reading, classical music)  helped me cope.”

He did not turn to drugs although brother Jaime did experiment, but that phase of his life is over now. All three of them are living in the Philippines with their mother and “have moved on from that tragedy of nearly 50 years ago.”

His mother Maria Rocio de Vega would inherit her husband’s position as chief movie censor from 1975. Watching movies may have been a source of relief or distraction and she carried on with her duties  until 1981. She never remarried.

“Her friends, pets, her doll collection, and travels  have been a source of comfort through the years.  Now her prayer group,” he said. “She is fine and is very strong and sharp for a woman in her late 80s.”

On October 27, 2023, Gimo’s birthday where he would have turned 92, Eddie posted a son’s greeting on Facebook: “On my dad’s 48th death anniversary today, I wish to thank him for everything that he did, and continues to do for the family…Thank you, Dad. Rest in peace.”

NBA Games

He remembered watching NBA Games Sunday nights on TV, during rare moments Gimo would be home because he was often out working. He remembered most especially instilling in him the honorable way to being a public servant.

“I distinctly remember one time when I couldn’t have been more than 9 or 10, how he told me that if ever I grew up and took advantage of my name and committed a misdemeanor, to not count on him for help as he himself might actually be the one to turn me over to authorities. That really left an imprint upon me in the way I conduct myself as a public official,” said Eddie. “I remember from my dad that he was very principled in the way he would raise us.”

Eddie – a  Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Juris Doctor graduate of UP Diliman —  is currently involved in the repatriation of Filipinos from the war-ravaged Middle East. He was in Dubai on a stopover as he was being interviewed by The FilAm. He was on his way to Egypt on a mission to bring home Filipino families (women married to Palestinian men and their children) caught in the middle of the war.

Before his current position, he was former ambassador to Mexico  (2016-2018), and Belgium, Luxembourg, and the European Union   (2018-2022).

What does he tell his daughter Monserrat about her late grandpa?  Assassination is a difficult word to pronounce, as it is to explain.

“She never knew her grandpa from my side, but she knew her mom’s dad and now we just say they are together in heaven praying for us,” he said in the very Filipino way to explain relatives who are gone. Eddie is married to fellow diplomat, Theresa de Vega, who is the Philippine ambassador to South Korea. She had previously been consul general to New York.

It’s hard to speculate, said Eddie, how he would have turned out if his father lived into his adulthood. “We are all a sum of our experiences…I may have turned out different, maybe not as focused.”

But public service is what he does, and he has his father’s words to guide and keep him grounded. In his world, that is enough.  

(C) The FilAm 2023