Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Secretary General Renato Reyes Jr. INQUIRER file photo
MANILA, Philippines–Colleagues of still missing University of the Philippines students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño slammed on Tuesday the Aquino administration for the delay in the arrest of retired Major General Jovito Palparan.
“The arrest of “The Butcher”Jovito Palparan is long overdue. The warrant for his arrest was issued in December 2011,” Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Secretary General Renato Reyes Jr. said in a statement.
Palparan went into hiding since December 2011 after he was ordered arrested by the Regional Trial Court in Malolos, Bulacan province.
“We look forward to a speedy trial so that justice can finally be rendered in the disappearance of our colleagues and friends Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan. Their families have been fighting for justice for years now,” Reyes said.
The retired major general was labeled “The Butcher” by political activists for allegedly masterminding the abduction of Cadapan and Empeño in 2006.
Palparan was arrested early Tuesday in Sta. Mesa, Manila by the combined forces of National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
“Under the Aquino regime, justice for Palparan’s victims remains elusive. There should be no special treatment for the ex-general,” he said.
“It is time to send a message to the AFP and all human rights violators that justice is the only answer to impunity. The Aquino gov’t must not bungle this case,” Reyes, who is also a political activist, said.
“We remember our friends and colleagues Karapatan’s Eden Marcellana, KMP’s Eddie Gumanoy, Atty. Juvy Magsino, teacher Leima Fortu and many others who were also victims of Palparan’s reign of terror in Mindoro, Central Luzon and Eastern Visayas,” he said.
”Up to now, they have not been given justice by the Aquino regime,” he added.
The militant leader also urged the public to closely monitor the developments of the case against Palparan.
Last August 2012, the Malacañang placed a bounty of P2 million on Palparan’s head, raising it from previous the P1 million, for being one of the country’s most wanted fugitive.
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