14/07/2025
📍𝐀𝐛𝐫𝐚 𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬 - 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐫’𝐬 𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐲 #𝟏𝟓
𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐘. 𝐉𝐎𝐒𝐄 “𝐏𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐓𝐎” 𝐋. 𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐀 (𝟏𝟗𝟓𝟒-𝟏𝟗𝟔𝟑)
Jose "Pepito", son of Servando Valera and Heresvita Lizardo, was born on April 16, 1916 in Bangued, Abra.
He was the Class Valedictorian of the first high school graduates of the then Colegio Del Sagrado Corazon in Bangued. Inspired by the able support of the late Rev. Fr. Lawrence Leisring, SVD, he pursued his studies at the Ateneo de Manila where he finished his Pre-Law degree. He completed his Bachelor of Laws in 1939 at the University of Santo Tomas. That same year, he successfully passed the Bar; went back to Abra to practice his profession at what he considered the fitting place for gainful experience in the legal field - the Bufete of the then eminent lawyer and political figure of Abra - the late Don Quintin Paredes who became a prominent statesman and Senate President. It must have been providential that the law office, which would provide him the work experience and professional growth was also where he met the love of his life, Violeta Paredes. Pepito must have had the political interest and charisma of his father, Servando (who was elected even without campaigning as councilor of Bangued for many years) because he easily plunged into politics once he became affiliated with the Paredes family. Prior to his political life, he was an 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 at the then Colegio Del Sagrado Corazon in Bangued. He was 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 in Lagangilang, San Juan, Dolores, Penarubia, Pilar, Villaviciosa, Pidigan and Bangued, all in Abra. He was 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 of the Peace in Abra; Director - Abra Lawyers' Association; President, Knights of Columbus; and President, Abra Red Cross Chapter Board. He was also active in civic clubs such as the Rotary, the Jaycees, and the Boy Scouts of the Philippines. In 1954, he was appointed as Acting Governor of Abra. After two years, he was elected as Governor and re-elected in 1960. During his ten year term, he spearheaded numerous projects that helped the lowlands as well as the upland communities of Abra. With the strong support of the then Senator Quintin Paredes and his son, then Congressman Lucas Paredes, Gov. Valera ably implemented provincial development programs and activities. Among the major infrastructure projects undertaken were the 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐧 𝐓𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥, 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐥; 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐬; 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬, 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬; 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬; and setting up scenic places like the 𝗩𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗸. As honorary chairman, he 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐨-𝐜𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 like Boy Scouts, Red Cross, Jaycees and Rotary Club. He visited the upland areas and assisted the Tingguians, ethno-cultural groups in Abra, through 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐬. As head of the province, he worked at coordinating activities with other provinces at the regional level. Abra 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬. as Ilocano Meet, Tour of Luzon and other educational and cultural programs. Concurrent to his position as Governor, he was Director of the Philippine To***co Administration. He was also actively involved in the Knights of Columbus and Adoration Nocturna - both religious organizations at the St. James Parish in Bangued. The sudden shift to terrorism and fraud as strategies of his political opponents to win the election in 1963 cut short his sincere desire to continue serving as Governor of Abra. Believing in 𝐧𝐨𝐧-𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐬, Gov. Valera 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 rather than resorting to guns and goons as means to perpetuate power and position. For the safety of those who were continuously being threatened and victimized by political terrorists, Gov. Valera "evacuated" his family and some loyal followers and resettled in Quezon City. Ex-Governor Valera then worked as Assistant Technical Staff, House of Representatives in Manila, and Private Secretary, Office of the Councilors, Quezon City. In 1969, he became a Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Board of Directors of General textiles, Inc. Later, he was promoted as Manager of the Legal Department of Gentex, a position he held for many years. He continued his active involvement in religious organizations, specifically the Adoracion Nocturna. He also served as Special Minister of the Holy Eucharist in the Our Lady of Hope in Pag-asa, Quezon City. In 1982, Atty. Valera and his wife Violeta, migrated to the U.S. to join their children and their families. While in the U.S., he resumed his membership in the Knights of Columbus at St. Augustine's Parish in South San Francisco, California. Pepito Valera and his wife Violet were 𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝟏𝟕 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 more than 𝟒𝟎 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 who are all successful in their own chosen fields and endeavors.
