Palparan co-accused frets over ex-general’s legal team

CITY OF MALOLOS, Philippines—The latest addition to the defense team of fugitive retired Major General Jovito Palparan has made the lawyer of his co-accused uncomfortable.

Palparan this week hired Bulacan lawyer Jesus Santos, who was a former spokesperson of Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo.

But Santos’ background may affect how the court perceives three other soldiers accused of the abduction of University of the Philippines students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño, said lawyer Jose Cruz, counsel of S/Sgt. Edgardo Osorio.

Cruz said any association with the Arroyo couple may be used by the prosecution to insist that his client conspired with Palparan and two other soldiers in abducting the students.

Palparan and co-accused M/Sgt. Rizal Hilario have yet to be arrested. Osorio and Army Col. Felipe Anotado are under military custody in Fort Bonifacio.

“At present, the perception is that all of the accused were [acting] under [the orders of] Palparan. [That’s how the prosecutors have established] conspiracy [when government charged our client]. At this time, it is very hard to disassociate them from Palparan. Sad to say, it could not be helped that the association between Palparan and the Arroyo couple would also implicate my client,” Cruz said.

Santos, 85, is president and founder of the National Association of Lawyers for Justice and Peace. In 1993, he won a P5-million civil case against the government on behalf of the families of Bulacan residents, who drowned when Angat Dam discharged water in 1978. He joins lawyers Narzal Mallares and Diosab Formilleza.

Cruz, meanwhile, is also the counsel of brothers Raymond and Roger Dominguez, who are accused of leading a carjacking syndicate. He replaced lawyer Alex Antonio Popanes.

Cruz said his observations were not meant to disparage the Palparan defense team. He said he would need to cooperate with the retired general’s counsels.

Santos’ daughter, Tricia, had also joined Palparan’s defense team.

On January 10, she filed a motion for reconsideration seeking to reverse a decision made by Judge Teodora Gonzales of the Bulacan regional trial court to defer action on Palparan’s motion to quash the charges until he turns himself in.

In her pleadings, she cited a Supreme Court ruling to argue that the absence of Palparan does not prevent the court from ruling on his Dec. 23 omnibus motion for preliminary investigation to quash or recall an arrest warrant issued on Dec. 19 and a hold departure order, and to suspend all proceedings before Gonzales.

“Except in applications for bail, it is not necessary for the court to first acquire jurisdiction over the person of the accused to dismiss the case or grant other relief,” she said.