The government should go easy on retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan who served his country well.
Ask military officers and enlisted men in the active service and those who have retired. They will tell you Palparan was an excellent officer and a gentleman.
Palparan did his job as a soldier. He didn’t do anything his fellow officers would not have done fighting enemies of the state.
If he committed crimes against innocent civilians, he would have been ostracized by his peers when he was still in the service.
The “berdugo” (butcher) label was given to him by enemies of the state, like the New People’s Army (NPA), and their sympathizers some of whom, ironically, are in government.
Let’s face it: Palparan is being persecuted by the Aquino administration for his closeness to former President Gloria, his former commander in chief.
The prosecution of Palparan is motivated by President Noynoy’s personal vendetta against Gloria.
* * *
I met Palparan years ago when he was commander of the Army’s 7th Infantry Division.
I referred to him a complaint from two vendors who were mistaken for members of the NPA by soldiers led by a lieutenant who were under him.
The vendors had complained to “Isumbong Mo kay Tulfo” that they were beaten up by soldiers at a checkpoint in Nueva Ecija province.
After listening to the vendors’ story in my presence, Palparan concluded that his men were at fault.
He told the lieutenant, whose name I can no longer recall, to make amends to the two vendors, otherwise, he would have them dismissed.
The lieutenant gave the two vendors a huge sum of money so he and his subordinates would be forgiven.
That incident showed Palparan’s fairness in dealing with civilians.
* * *
Manila Mayor Erap’s campaign to ease traffic congestion in his city with his truck ban is succeeding tremendously.
But hasn’t anybody told Erap that the adverse effect on the economy is also tremendous?
The prices of some commodities have gone up because importers are paying high fees for the use of warehouses where they have been stored.
As a tesult, goods have been coming out of Manila’s piers in trickles.
The closure of some branches of your favorite fast-food chain, Jollibee, was said to have been caused by the long delay in supplying chicken parts from the piers to their outlets.
A Chinoy businessman friend told me he loses millions of pesos daily because the products he imports from China don’t reach outlets on time.
These businesses are only two; there are hundreds more like them.
Erap should make a choice between easing traffic congestion in his city, and the national economy.
* * *
Why hasn’t the President asked Mayor Erap to go easy on his truck ban?
Will the President only intervene when the situation reaches crisis proportions?
The President’s inaction on the impending economic crisis caused by Manila’s truck ban is a measure of his leadership.