NBI: Help us find Palparan

Retired Major General Jovito Palparan now finds himself on the other side of the fence as the once hunter is now the hunted after a warrant for his arrest was issued by a local court for his supposed role in the alleged abduction of two student activists in 2006. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—Unable to locate retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan in the last 18 days, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has appealed to the public for help in finding the ex-officer.

Ricardo Diaz, NBI director for Central Luzon, said his team needed all the help it could get because Palparan, who is facing charges of kidnapping two University of the Philippines coeds in 2006, “is not an ordinary fugitive.”

“It’s really hard to search for a [military] general,” said Diaz on Saturday.

He said any information that could lead to Palparan’s arrest may be given to him through tel. (045)-4552809 or his e-mail at [email protected]. He said he could also be reached through his accounts on the social networking sites Facebook and Twitter.

The bounty on Palparan’s head has been increased by the government from P500,000 to P1 million.

‘Craft of law enforcers’

A Bulacan court recently issued an arrest warrant for Palparan and three other officers in connection with the kidnapping and serious illegal detention of students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño, who have remained missing. Two of his coaccused, Lt. Col. Felipe Anotado and S/Sgt. Edgardo Osorio, are under military custody at Fort Bonifacio. The fourth accused, M/Sgt. Rizal Hilario, said to be Palparan’s right-hand man, has yet to be arrested.

“This person is different because he knows the craft of law enforcers,” Diaz said of Palparan, who has denied the charges. But the general went into hiding after Bureau of Immigration personnel at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport at the Clark Freeport stopped him from boarding a plane bound for Singapore on Dec. 19.

“Kay Palparan yata ako madadale (It looks like my downfall will be Palparan). But remember, I tracked down his wife and two [adult] children to a house he had not declared as his in Pasig City,” Diaz said of a Dec. 30 raid by the NBI.

Reported sightings

On Jan. 6, NBI agents searched several farms and compounds around Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, the Philippine Army’s biggest camp, following reported sightings of the former general there. But the searches yielded negative results.

Fort Magsaysay was Palparan’s base as commander of the 7th Infantry Division from 2005 until his retirement on Sept. 11, 2006.

A farm caretaker in Pesa village in Bongabon town denied reports that Palparan owned the place. The former general was not seen there, the caretaker told Diaz.

Neither was he at a poultry owned by a retired Army general in General Tinio town.

Diaz said the manhunt for Palparan was not solely an NBI matter because the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Department of Justice were directly involved in it.

“The [Philippine National Police] has standing orders from Secretary [Jesse] Robredo to help us in the NBI. He has assigned a senior officer and the [Criminal Investigation and Detection Group] to assist us,” Diaz said.

Judge Teodora Gonzales of the Regional Trial Court Branch 14 in the city of Malolos in Bulacan has not imposed a deadline for the serving of the arrest warrant, Diaz said.

“It is understood that it is ASAP (as soon as possible). But I need to locate him,” he said.

Like the Grinch

“Palparan’s like the Grinch who stole my Christmas and New Year. I was not able to spend [the holidays] with my family,” Diaz said.

“The whole country should not depend on me. I’m looking for one among 90 million Filipinos. I need help. Guide me,” he said.

Malacañang on Sunday said it may take some time to find Palparan but it was certain the fugitive general would eventually fall into the hands of authorities. With a report from Christine O. Avendaño