Robredo to Palparan: No shoot to kill order

MANILA, Philippines—Interior Secretary Jesse M. Robredo has assured fugitive retired Major General Jovito Palparan he will be treated well once he surfaces to face charges in connection with the disappearance of two University of the Philippines student activists in 2006, provided he does not resist arrest.

“There is no shoot to kill order,” Robredo said early Tuesday.

“In order to ensure just process at the soonest possible time, we hope General Palparan will surface on his own or be caught first by the authorities … He will be arrested peacefully,” he said.

In a TV interview, Robredo said there were new surrender feelers that emanated from the Palparan camp before Christmas, following previous overtures that did not materialize.

He said as far as he knew, Palparan was still in the country, although his lawyers would be in the best position to know.

Robredo denied suggestions that the government was “persecuting” Palparan.

“That’s impossible. General Palparan can better explain his side when he faces the charges. The government assures him of due process. It does not help his side to continue hiding because in the eyes of the people, he did something wrong,” he said.

In December, the Malolos Regional Trial Court in Bulacan issued warrants for the arrest of Palparan and three other Army officers for their alleged involvement in the disappearance of UP student activists Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan in 2006.

Palparan, along with retired M/Sgt. Rizal Hilario, Lt. Col. Felipe Anotado and S/Sgt. Edgardo Osorio, is charged with kidnapping and illegally detaining Cadapan and Empeño, who were last seen in Hagonoy, Bulacan.

Anotado and Osorio surrendered to authorities a day after the court issued the arrest warrant while Palparan and Hilario remain at large.