Palparan denies link to abduction
By Tonette Orejas
Central Luzon Desk
First Posted 19:29:00 10/13/2008
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Philippines—Retired Army Major General Jovito Palparan Jr. on Monday questioned the credibility of a farmer whose testimonies served as bases for the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court to link him to the abduction of that man and his brother in Bulacan in 2006.
"Mukhang impossible na makilala niya ako, na hinarap ko siya, kung kilala niya ako dati. Iniisip niyang sa TV niya lang ako nakita. Ang reference lang niya TV (It seemed impossible that he could identify me, that I came to meet him, if he knew me before. He thought he saw me on television. His only reference was television)," Palparan said in a telephone interview, referring to the affidavit of Raymond Manalo.
Raymond and his brother, Reynaldo, obtained a writ of amparo last week from the Supreme Court as protection from possible harassment by government forces.
The brothers told the courts that the military abducted, tortured and detained them for 18 months in various camps in Bulacan and Bataan until they escaped in August last year in Pangasinan.
Last week, the Supreme Court upheld the findings of the appellate court that "Palparan's participation in the abduction [of the brothers] was established."
The decision, penned by Chief Justice Reynato Puno, said Raymond's account was "dotted with countless candid details of [their] harrowing experience and tenacious will to escape, captured through his different senses and etched in his memory."
"Talagang parang sinasadya lang na mai-link ako dun (It really looked like there's a deliberate effort to link me to the case)," Palparan said of Raymond's statements to the courts.
"There's a pattern. That's orchestrated," he said.
Asked why, he said: "He's handled by the [National Democratic Front]."
Palparan also said Raymond was a New People's Army member.
"We have records of that. He's an enemy of the Cafgu (Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit)," he said.
The Manalo brothers said they were farmers, not communist rebels.
Palparan said he did not meet the Manalos.
"Never" was his reply when the Philippine Daily Inquirer asked if he ever went to any of the military camps or safe houses in Bulacan, Bataan and Pangasinan to talk to the brothers.
"As commander, I go around but not in that kind of situation. That's taken care of by ground commanders. I only come during critical operations," he said.
"I will just let [the case] be," he said.
"Raymond's case was for an amparo for alleged torture and illegal detention. That he's a witness in [the case of] two missing students [Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan of the University of the Philippines] is a different thing," Palparan said.
Asked how he felt being hounded by cases of human rights violations after his retirement, Palparan said: "No problem. Until my death I have to answer for whatever."
Palparan assumed the command of the Army's 7th Infantry Division based in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija, on September 1, 2005. The 7th ID has control of military units operating in Central Luzon and parts of Pangasinan.
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