SC: Palparan, 5 others answerable for disappearance of 2 UP activists, farmer

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court, in ordering the Armed Forces to release University of the Philippines (UP) students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño, and farmer Manuel Merino, who have been missing for nearly five years now, said that retired General Jovito Palparan and five others “appear responsible and accountable” for their disappearance.

The high tribunal said that Palparan, Lieutenant Colonels Felipe Anotado and Rogelio Boac, Lt. Francis Mirabelle Samson, Arnel Enriquez and Donald Caigas would remain impleaded in the petitions “to answer for any responsibilities and/or accountabilities they may have incurred during their incumbencies.”

The military, however, had claimed that Enriquez and Caigas were not in its roster of soldiers.

All the other respondents have consistently denied involvement in the abduction and disappearance of the UP students and Merino.

Cadapan and Empeño, who were described to be student activists, were abducted on June 27, 2006, along with Merino from his home in Hagonoy, Bulacan.

“The Court finds that the appellate court erred when it did not specifically name the respondents that it found to be responsible for the abduction and continued detention of Sherlyn, Karen and Merino. For, from the records, it appears that the responsible and accountable individuals are Lt. Col. Felipe Anotado, Lt. Mirabelle, Gen. Palparan, Lt. Col. Boac, Arnel Enriquez and Donald Caigas. They should thus be made to comply with the September 17, 2008, decision of the appellate court to immediately release Sherlyn, Karen and Merino,” the high court said.

The high tribunal emphasized its order by putting the words “immediate release” in capital letters in its ruling.

The Supreme Court also ordered that copies of its decision and the records of the cases be furnished to the Department of Justice (DoJ), the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) “for further investigation to determine the respective criminal and administrative liabilities of respondents.”

“All the present petitions are remanded to the Court of Appeals for appropriate action, directed at monitoring of the DoJ, PNP and AFP investigations and the validation of their results,” it said.

The Supreme Court, on the other hand, dismissed the petitions filed against retired military chief, Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, retired national police chief, Director Gen. Avelino Razon, and the retired Army chief, Lt. Gen. Romeo Tolentino, “for lack of merit as there is no showing that they were even remotely accountable and responsible for the abduction and continued detention of Sherlyn, Karen and Merino.”

It also agreed with the Court of Appeals that former president and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should be dropped from the suit as she was immune from any criminal and civil cases at the time that the petitions for habeas corpus and writ of amparo were filed.

Senior Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales, who retired last June 19, wrote the court’s May 31 en banc decision, which affirmed the appellate court’s September 17, 2008, ruling.

Associate Justices Roberto Abad and Jose Mendoza took no part in the deliberations. Mendoza wrote the appellate court decision when he was still a Court of Appeals associate justice.

The Supreme Court said that the incumbent commanding general of the 7th Infantry Division and the incumbent battalion commander of the 24th Infantry Battalion, both of the Philippine Army, “are enjoined to fully ensure the release” of Cadapan, Empeno, and Merino from detention as some of the respondents have either retired or have been reassigned.

In their petition before the high tribunal questioning the appellate court’s 2008 ruling, Boac et al. questioned, among others, the credibility of farmer Raymond Manalo, who had escaped from military detention with his brother Reynaldo.

The high court said that Manalo’s credibility has already been established in a 2008 writ of amparo case.

The tribunal had ruled that Manalo’s account, as well as that of Reynaldo, of their abduction by the military in 2006, was “candid and forthright.”

Manalo has testified seeing Cadapan, Empeno, and Merino in Camp Tecson in San Miguel, Bulacan, and all of them were subsequently transferred to an Army camp in Limay, Bataan.

“There is thus no compelling reason for the Court, in the present case, to disturb its appreciation in Manalo’s testimony. The outright denial of petitioner Lt. Col. Boac et al. thus crumbles,” the court said.

Last May 4, the mothers of Cadapan and Empeño filed criminal charges against Palparan, Boac, Anotado, Samson, Enriquez, M/Sgt. Rizal Hilario, and other John and Jane Does before the DoJ.

The allegations against Palparan et al. include rape, serious physical injuries, arbitrary detention, maltreatment of prisoners, grave threats and grave coercion.