‘Butcher’ back to barracks

MANILA, Philippines–It was a homecoming of sorts for retired Army Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr., the so-called “butcher” of the previous Arroyo administration.

From the Bulacan Provincial Jail, Palparan was transferred on Monday to his old “stomping grounds”—the headquarters of his mother unit in Taguig City.

The Bulacan Regional Trial Court (RTC) on Monday granted Palparan’s petition for his transfer to and detention at the Philippine Army Custodial Center (PACC) in Fort Bonifacio, enraging the parents of two missing University of the Philippines (UP) students.

The abduction of UP students Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan in 2006 has been blamed on Palparan and two other military officials standing trial here for kidnapping and serious illegal detention.

Unable to hold her emotions, Concepcion Empeño shouted: “Kahit saan ka man makulong, mabulok ka man sa kulungan, Palparan, ilabas mo na ang mga anak namin, si Karen at si Sherlyn (You can’t hide no matter where you end up imprisoned, Palparan. Bring back our daughters, Karen and Sherlyn).”

Palparan, a retired commander of the Army’s 7th Infantry Division based in Nueva Ecija province, has been branded “the butcher” by human rights advocates for his alleged role in the killing, abduction and torture of political activists.

He was arrested in a house in Santa Mesa, Manila, last month after more than two years in hiding.

The Monday hearing was supposed to address Palparan’s pretrial, which had been rescheduled twice since his arrest and detention at the Bulacan Provincial Jail on Aug. 18.

Plot

But Judge Teodora Gonzales of the RTC Branch 14 instead dealt with Palparan’s petition to be transferred to military custody due to intelligence reports that a rebel squad may have been sent out to kill him.

“I think the judge now realized the gravity of the threat to my life. She decided [in my favor] based on that concern,” Palparan told the Inquirer.

A four-vehicle convoy left Bulacan province at noon on Monday and took Palparan, 64, to Fort Bonifacio. He arrived at the Custodial Center around 2 p.m.

“We look forward to his safety while undergoing trial,” said the Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff, Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang.

Jail vulnerable

In granting Palparan’s petition, Gonzales cited the vulnerability of the provincial jail, as well as the impact his presence there has on the conduct of business in offices within the provincial capitol compound where the facility is located.

Gonzales said the Bulacan jail’s proximity to the RTC building, the provincial prosecutor’s office, the Public Attorney’s Office, the National Bureau of Investigation and other private offices had made employees anxious.

Palparan’s court appearances required the presence of heavily armed policemen, disrupting activities in the provincial capitol compound, according to the judge.

Anxiety ended

“To end this anxiety, I am granting the transfer of retired Major General Palparan to the PACC,” she said.

Gonzales also cited the savings that the government would make in detaining Palparan with his two coaccused—Lt. Col. Felipe Anotado and SSgt. Edgardo Osorio—at the PACC.

Senior Supt. Ferdinand Divina, acting Bulacan provincial police director, testified that the Bulacan police office had spent an additional P60,000 to enable 22 policemen to guard Palparan for almost a month.

Divina told the court that valuable resources meant for routine patrols in the province had been compromised when the office was forced to deploy a security team for Palparan. Seven members of the police’s Special Weapons and Tactics team also guarded the perimeter of the provincial jail daily, he said.

Government prosecutors and jail officials earlier assured that Palparan would be safe in the Bulacan jail.

Threats speculative

Lorena Santos, secretary general for Families of Desaparecidos for Justice, noted that the warden of the Bulacan Provincial Jail admitted in court that threats to Palparan’s life were “purely speculative.”

“[So] the basis of the decision is unclear,” said Santos, who attended the hearing where Gonzales handed down the decision.

Santos said Palparan was “essentially freed,” with the court decision to turn him over to the Army.

Edre Olalia, the lawyer of the families of Empeño and Cadapan and secretary general of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, opposed the transfer.

Based on news reports

Narzal Mallares, Palparan’s lawyer, managed to draw out the AFP report about the attempt on his client’s life, despite Olalia’s objections that the threats were based on “published newspaper reports and online information.”

In a statement, Olalia said: “How can something so routinary, such as the detention of one man accused of horrific crimes against humanity, be so complicated and fussy as to compel the realignment of the cosmos and tripping over of the government all over itself to suit his convenience and preference?”

‘Bad precedent’

“This will serve as a bad precedent and example for all those who can wreak evil and get concessions along the way. Palparan’s transfer to [the PACC] … does not answer the question of why a civilian should be detained in a military facility.

“Why, for heaven’s sake, in all places his old stomping grounds—the headquarters of the Army? It just doesn’t make sense,” Olalia said.

“Palparan would be right at home at the Army [headquarters], where he would even be saluted by troops while in detention,” said Renato Reyes Jr., secretary general of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan.

‘No special treatment’

Lt. Col. Noel Detoyato, Army spokesman, said there would be no special treatment for Palparan, who held various posts in the Army until his retirement in 2006.

“Like other detained soldiers, he will be treated fairly and justly,” Detoyato said.

Palparan’s detention cell measures 2.8 x 4.3 meters, with a bed, a window and iron grills, and an electric fan. It has a door for an entrance but the way to the detention cell is heavily secured with two fences.

Palparan will be sharing a common bathroom with eight other detained soldiers at the Custodial Center.

Some of the Magdalo soldiers in the 2003 Oakwood mutiny were previously detained there.

The Army chief, Lt. Gen. Hernando Iriberri, said his men were ready to take custody of Palparan. “We will abide by the provisions of the transfer as stipulated by the court order and he will be presented to the court when needed,” Iriberri said.

Two weeks’ notice

Detoyato said the Army two weeks ago received word from Palparan’s counsel that the retired general may be detained at the Custodial Center, giving the warden ample time to prepare.

Two of Palparan’s fellow detainees are his coaccused in the Cadapan and Empeño abduction case—Anotado and Osorio, who both surrendered in 2011.

Palparan’s cell will be next to Anotado’s, Detoyato said.

“We are prepared to carry out the court order. Before, we have had high-profile detainees here, like the Magdalo soldiers,” he said.

Only visitors approved by Palparan will be allowed to visit him. Visits are allowed daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

‘Travesty’

But Cristina Palabay, secretary general of the human rights watchdog Karapatan, said Palparan’s transfer to Fort Bonifacio was a “grave travesty of justice.”

The Promotion of Church People’s Response (PCPR) said that instead of providing security to a human rights violator, the government must move to protect the rights of victims and their families.

“Let justice roll like flowing river and righteousness like a never-ending stream,” PCPR general secretary Nardy Sabino said in a statement.–With reports from Jaymee T. Gamil and Jocelyn R. Uy in Manila; and Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon

Originally posted:  5:34 pm | Monday, September 15th, 2014

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