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Jovito Palparan, infamously known as ‘The Butcher’ for his bloody campaign against communist guerrillas, was sentenced to life for kidnapping two university students in 2006 on suspicion of being linked to communist groups. They were also ordered to pay US$5,500 each in damages to the family of the two students.
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On Monday, the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Bulacan has found the retired army general and two of other army personnel guilty of kidnapping and illegal detention of the University of Philippines students.
Karen E. Empeno and Sherlyn T. Cadapan were seized from the house of one Raquel Halili in Barangay San Miguel, Hagonoy on June 26, 2006. Empeno, who was 22 at that time, was researching the plight of farmers in the provinces, and Cadapan, then 29, was a community organizer for a leftist farmers group in Bulacan.
Both students were believed to be tortured, raped and killed by the soldiers. Their bodies were never found. The court ruled witness testimonies of seeing both women in a military camp being tortured, to be credible.
In a 31-page decision by Judge Alexander Tamayo, Palparan’s co-accused, LtCol. Felipe Anotado Jr. and SSgt. Edgardo Osorio, were also found guilty of the same offenses. Another co-accused MSgt. Rizal Hilario has a pending arrest warrant but is not included in the decision as he is still fleeing authorities.
In 2017, a government commission which investigated political killings, made Palparan a prime suspect in murders of people deemed as ‘enemies of the state’. When the parents of the abducted students filed a case against Palparan in 2011, the retired army general went into hiding but was later arrested in 2014.
Human rights groups accused Palparan of killing communist rebels when he was an army general battling guerrillas in rural areas under the command of former President Glorio Arroyo.
The court ruling said, "He was one with his men in the desire to stamp out the enemies of the state ... who they believe deserve to be erased from the face of the Earth at any cost."
Local and international human rights group welcomed his conviction. The National Union of People’s Lawyers which counseled the kidnapped students’ parents, said in a statement, "[Palparan's] conviction sends the message that perpetrators of hideous human rights violations will meet their match in the fortitude of the mothers, the strength of the mass movement, the courage of human rights defenders, and the value of good lawyering for the people."
Palparan protested the conviction, shouting at the judge: "You're a coward, judge! You're such a coward!" He also said he will appeal his case in a higher court. For now, the three convicts are to be committed to the New Bilibid Prison.
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