LUCENA CITY – The conviction of former Army Major Gen. Jovito Palparan will further boost the people’s struggle against alleged terrorism of government forces under the Duterte regime, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) said Monday.
“With the conviction of Palparan, the Filipino people are further emboldened to demand an end to the reign of terror and mass murder of the fascist Duterte regime,” the CPP said in a statement.
The CPP said Duterte’s counter insurgency campaign dubbed “Oplan Kapayapaan” and martial law declaration in Mindanao “and grave violations of human rights clearly draw from Palparan’s legacy of impunity and terror.”
“Palparan’s ilk, including zealots of the US-doctrine of counter-insurgency now occupy the top echelons of the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” the rebel group said.
The CPP said the revolutionary forces join the people, human rights defenders and mass organizations in celebrating the conviction of Palparan, a known rabid nemesis of New People’s Army rebels.
“It is a victory attained through relentless campaign for justice and retribution.for all the fascist crimes perpetrated during the course of Palparan’s reign of terror especially under Gloria Arroyo’s Bantay Laya 1 and 2,” the CPP said.
The CPP said his conviction will further strengthen the determination of other alleged victims of Palparan to demand justice for all his alleged crimes during his reign as the military’s chief implementer of the state’s bloody anti-insurgency campaign.
“Palparan’s conviction amplifies the Filipino people’s demand for Arroyo and her fascist cohorts to be indicted, imprisoned, prosecuted, and punished for the numerous crimes and rampant violations of human rights commited during their campaign of vicious suppresion of democratic rights,” the rebel party said.
On Monday, the former Army official was convicted by the Malolos Regional Trial Court for kidnapping and serious illegal detention over the enforced disappearance of UP student activists Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño in 2006. /kga