Palace to Palparan: Surrender now
MANILA, Philippines—The government has launched a manhunt for retired Major General Jovito Palparan, who has reportedly gone into hiding since attempting to leave the country for Singapore via Clark in Pampanga last Monday.
“Come out, come out wherever you are,” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said Wednesday in a statement directed at Palparan, who is now considered a “fugitive from justice.”
Lacierda said a task force from the Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation was created by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo to find, arrest and detain Palparan.
“Retired Major Gen. Jovito Palparan, formerly so bold and brazen, and lavishly coddled by the former administration, is now a fugitive from justice,” Lacierda said in a statement.
“While he no longer has men under his command, and while he can no longer behave with impunity, it is incumbent upon Mr. Palparan to submit to the authorities and face the charges in court,” he said.
Lacierda expressed hope that Palparan would “face the music and face the charges.”
“Surrender now,” he told Palparan.
Palparan has been charged at a Bulacan regional trial court for the kidnapping of two University of the Philippines female students who remained missing to this day.
