Prosecution ready for Palparan trial

Only one of two people caught with retired Army Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan (pictured) in his hideout in Sta. Mesa, Manila, on Tuesday will be charged with harboring a fugitive and obstruction of justice, according to a source from the National Bureau of Investigation. AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The panel of government lawyers pursuing criminal charges against former Major General Jovito Palparan is getting ready to face the erstwhile fugitive for the first time since he went into hiding following his indictment nearly three years ago for the disappearance of University of the Philippines students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño.

Assistant State Prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera, head of the prosecution panel, said his team was ready to begin the trial of  Palparan, starting with his scheduled arraignment on Monday.

“We will attend Palparan’s arraignment on August 18,” Navera said.

It would be the first time for the panel to come face to face with Palparan since he appeared in preliminary hearings in 2011.

Asked how the panel was in preparing for the trial, the prosecutor said: “Suffice it to say that we will present relevant eyewitnesses against him. We can’t really discuss more because it will be sub-judice.”

Palparan,  called  “berdugo” (butcher) for alleged human rights violations during his time in the Army under the presidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, is set to be arraigned on charges of kidnapping and serious illegal detention on Monday at the Malolos Regional Trial Court in Bulacan. The hearing comes nearly a week after his arrest in Sta. Mesa, Manila, as one of the country’s most wanted men.

Court proceedings against him will begin after the prosecution completes the presentation of evidence against his co-accused—Lieutenant Colonel Felipe Anotado and S/Sgt. Edgardo Osorio— who surrendered in December 2011. Another accused, M/Sgt. Rizal Hilario, remains at large.

Palparan, who is now under the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation, asked the court on Friday to keep him in Manila instead of the Bulacan Provincial Jail as the court had ordered, due to alleged threats to his life from a “liquidation squad” of the New People’s Army.

The NBI has said it would comply with the court’s order to transfer Palparan to the Bulacan jail despite the “very high, very valid” claim of threats, saying it would enlist the help of the police and military to ensure the detainee’s security.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said state agents would make sure to secure Palparan while in detention, because if anything untoward happens to him, that would be “another big blow” to the administration.

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