The Association of Generals and Flag Officers (Agfo) yesterday expressed concern over the case of retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, who is now a wanted person and the subject of P500,000 bounty, which might be exploited by “enemies of the state” and may demoralize the military ranks.
In a state-ment, Agfo chairman and president retired Lt. Gen. Raul Urgello said that while the organization of retired military and police generals wants Palparan to face the charges against him before the court of justice, it warned of the supposed exploitation of the issue by anti-government forces.
“The members of Agfo view with deep concern the developments surrounding the case of General Palparan…we sympathize with the families of the innocent persons who suffered abuse and died as a result of the protracted insurgency conflict in our country,” Urgello said.
“But we are disturbed by the exploitation of the case General Palparan who has not yet been convicted by any court of law and his projection as a serial murderer, a berdugo (butcher), based on evidence that are yet to be scrutinized in due process by the court,” added Urgello.
Palparan, along with three other Army personnel, were charged for the 2006 kidnapping of University of the Philippines (UP) students Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan. A Bulacan issued warrants of arrest against the accused, prompting two other accused, Lt. Col. Felipe Anotado Jr. and Sgt. Edgardo Osorio, to surrender.
However, Palparan and another co-accused, retired MSgt. Rizal Hilario continued to evade arrest.
The Department of Justice and the Department of Interior and Local Governments have already offered P500,000 reward for any information that would lead to the arrest of Palparan, who has reportedly sent surrender feelers to the police.
“We believe that he (Palparan) must face the charges against him and equally in his right to be tried fairly based on facts and circumstances devoid of any political or ideological insinuations,” said Urgello.
“It is not difficult to imagine that the ideological enemies of the state will capitalize on this issue to support their deadly political-military struggle. And it is not difficult to comprehend either the consequent demoralization in the soldiers ranks if this is allowed to happen. The military should not be weakened by the perception of injustice in its ranks,” added Urgello.
Urgello said that Agfo is calling for the stoppage of the “undue trial by publicity” against Palparan and at the same time expressed hopes that Palparan would be enlightened and trust the justice system.
“Let the courts determine his innocence or guilt in fair due process. The rule of law should prevail over the demands of interests groups in the courts of public opinion,” said Urgello.
The Agfo has active and retired police and military generals as members.
Prosecutors meanwhile have been directed to question the proposed transfer of two army men detained in connection with the criminal charges filed against fugitive retired general who is wanted for his part in the abduction of two female student activists during the Arroyo administration.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said she already directed DoJ prosecutors handling the case to file the appropriate motion before the Malolos, Bulacan regional trial court (RTC) Branch 14 Judge Teodora Gonzales opposing the transfer of detention to the Philippine Army Headquarters of Lt. Col. Felipe Anotado and S/Sgt Edgardo Osorio.
“They should be detained in a civilian facility such as the PNP (Philippine National Police) Custodial Center in Camp Crame or Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan (Taguig),” De Lima said after Anotado and Osorio were taken to the Philippine Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City from the Bulacan Provincial Jail on Friday.
Palparan, Anotado, Osorio and M/Sgt. Rizal Hilario were ordered arrested on Dec. 19 in connection with the purported abduction of UP students Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan in June 2006.
Anotado and Osorio yielded to authorities a day after Gonzales issued a warrant for their arrest while Palparan and Hilario had gone into hiding.
State Prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera, who led the DoJ panel which recommended the filing of criminal charges against Palparan et al., said he was surprised that Anotado and Osorio were brought to the Army headquarters without their knowledge.
He said the DoJ was not furnished of the copy of Gonzales’ supposed order which allowed the pair to be taken under military custody.
“We will inquire first why we have not received any notice and the order directing the transfer to the Army custody and why the Army itself did not inform the DoJ,” Navera said.
“The accused have their own lawyers. The DoJ is hoping the Army is not lawyering for them,” he said, adding:
“We have to strike a balance between the need to avoid any special treatment for the accused with the issue of their personal security while in detention.”
At the same time, the End Impunity Alliance, a network of victims of rights violations, human rights defenders and civil libertarians, criticized the transfer of custody of the two co-accused perpetrators in the kidnapping and serious illegal detention charges against Palparan from the Bulacan Provincial Jail to Fort Bonifacio.
Cristina Palabay, convenor of the alliance, said this move is highly irregular as both should remain in an ordinary civilian detention facility, not in the comfortable confines of their military camps. She said this was done without the knowledge of the complainants, the mothers of Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno, and their counsels.
“We decry this form of special treatment, as if the undue delay of the arrests of Palparan and Hilario is not disturbing enough. We demand that they be brought to a civilian detention facility and that Palparan and Hilario be immediately arrested and jailed in a similar institution,” she commented.
Anotado and Osorio are currently in the custody of the Philippine Army, while Palparan and M/Sgt. Rizal Hilario remain at large, after warrants of arrest were issued against them.
Palabay also branded Palparan’s motion in court to recall the arrest warrant and hold-departure order against him “a cheap shot of a guilty criminal who is known to notoriously distort facts to evade accountability and prosecution.”
“The facts as presented by the witnesses, who are also victims-survivors, in the Cadapan-Empeno case are as clear as day. This case is just one of the numerous cases of rights violations perpetuated by Palparan and his ilk, with counter-insurgency program Oplan Bantay Laya as their blueprint and inspired by the accolades and promotion given by former President Gloria Arroyo during her rule,” she added.
Reports recorded by human rights group Karapatan cited 39 cases of extra-judicial killings, 11 attempted killings and 5 enforced disappearances in his stint in the Southern Tagalog Region. Palparan was transferred as commander of the 8th Infantry Division in Samar where he raised the record of 25 extra-judicial killings, 9 attempted killings, and 12 enforced disappearances. Some 7,250 individuals, 5,223 families in 141 communities fell victims to intensified militarization. As commanding general of the 7th Infantry Division assigned in Central Luzon, Karapatan has documented 77 victims of extra-judicial killings, 15 attempted killings and 42 enforced disappearances.
“His record speaks for him, his statements betray his guilt, and his motives are laid bare to the public including the international community,” Palabay concluded.
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