Jovito Palparan, tagged by activists as “the butcher,” has been accused as behind the alleged abduction of University of the Philippines students Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan. A court has issued a warrant for Palparan’s arrest two years ago and families of the victims are demanding justice.
The students were said to have been abducted by elements of military under 7th Infantry Division and are still nowhere to be found despite of the resolution released last December 2011 by the Panel of National Prosecution Service, charging retired Palparan, retired Lieutenant Colonel Felipe Anotado, retired Master Sergeant Rizal Hilario, and Staff Sergeant Edgardo Osorio with two counts of Kidnapping and Serious Illegal Detention.
The victims’ mothers have been begging the government to act on their grieve and arrest Palparan, who remains in hiding.
“Mahigit dalawang taon na mula nang ilabas ng korte ang warrant of arrest kay Palparan ngunit hindi pa rin nahuli o HINUHULI si Ret. Gen. Jovito Palparan. Ano ang kanilang nagawa? Kinakanlong si Palparan? (It has been more than two years now since the warrant of arrest was issued against Ret. Gen. Jovito Palparan. But up to this time, he has not been arrested or the government refuse to arrest him),” Linda Cadapan said in a statement sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
She, and Concepcion Empeño, issued an open letter questioning the efforts of the Aquino government to put Palparan in jail.
“Masakit sa aming puso na malaman na malaya pa rin ang mga nanakit at nagwala sa aming mga anak. Mas masakit pa na makita na wala man lang ginagawa ng pamahalaan hinggil dito,(It pains us that those who hurt our daughters, those responsible for their disappearance are still free. But it pains us more that this government has not done anything about this case),”Empeño said.
The open letter came out in time for the hearing of the kidnapping and serious illegal detention case against Palparan and others who are also linked to the disappearance of the two students.
The hearing has been going on, at a very slow pace, for two years now at Malolos Regional Trial Court, and without Palparan.
The two mothers hit the military’s delaying tactics in the court proceedings, “lagi na lamang napo-postponed ang pagdinig sa aming kaso dahil sa walang maipakitang ebidensiya ang mga akusadong militar. Sa pagpapatagal-tagal ng usad ng kaso sa korte ay baka magpatakas pa kina Lt. Anotado at Sgt. Osorio, (The hearings were always postponed because the military failed to present its witnesses. The delay might give Lt. Anotado and Sgt. Osorio the opportunity to escape,” Empeño said.
“Sa darating na ika-26 ng Hunyo ay walong taon na ang paghahanap at pakikipaglaban para sa hustisya para sa aking anak na si Karen Empeño at kanyang kasamang si Sherlyn Cadapan. Sadya nga bang malupit ang tadhana sa mga taong walang impluwensiya sa lipunan o nagbibingi-bingihan at nagbubulag-bulagan lamang ang pamahalaan sa lumalalang sitwasyon ng paglabag sa karapatang pantao at kawalang katarungan sa ating bansa? (We’ve been searching for our daughters and fighting for justice almost eight years now. Is this our fate, we who are not influential in this country? Or the government simply chose to remain blind and deaf to the worsening human rights situation and injustice in this country?),” Empeño
Cadapan reminded the public to be on the look-out for Palparan and help in his arrest, “muli, ako ay nanawagan sa lahat na agarang tumulong sa pag-aresto o paghuli sa salarin na dumukot kina Sherlyn Cadapan, Karen Empeno, pumatay kay Manuel Merino at sa maraming mga aktibista at tagapagtanggol ng karapatan ng mamamayan (Again, I appeal to the public to help in the arrest or to effect arrest to the abductors of Karen and Sherlyn, killed Manuel Merino at many other activists and defenders of the people’s rights).”
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