INQUIRER PHOTO/RAFFY LERMA
MANILA, Philippines — Human rights groups Karapatan and Desaparecidos on Monday backed a motion filed before the Supreme Court seeking to compel the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) to reveal the whereabouts of convicted former Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan.
The motion was filed on June 9 by Erlinda Cadapan and Concepcion Empeño, whose daughters, student-activists Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño, were abducted in Hagonoy, Bulacan, in June 2006 by troops under Palparan’s command. They remain missing up to now.
The mothers said they learned Palparan was no longer detained at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City, where he is serving a sentence for reclusion perpetua without parole. This was after notices sent to the convict were returned undelivered, bearing annotations he had been transferred to “BuCor-Baguio” and later to “PMA (Philippine Military Academy) Baguio.”
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“Meanwhile, at the NBP, the official line is that Palparan has been brought to the hospital,” said Karapatan.
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Palparan was convicted in September 2018 of kidnapping and serious illegal detention over the disappearance of Sherlyn and Karen. The Court of Appeals upheld his conviction in 2022, although his appeal remains pending before the Supreme Court. He was dubbed “The Butcher” by activists because of the numerous deaths that would occur wherever he was assigned.
‘Special treatment’
“The varied answers raise renewed suspicions of special treatment for Palparan,” said Desaparecidos spokesperson JL Burgos.
“In 2022, under the Duterte regime, the Bucor allowed [Sonshine Media Network International] to interview Palparan in prison, where he continued to Red-tag Sherlyn and Karen and justify their abduction,” added Burgos.
Burgos said Palparan was likewise detained at the minimum security compound of the NBP instead of the maximum security compound, where heinous crimes convicts should be held.
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“This latest news is even worse about Palparan reportedly being at the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio, which is neither a Bucor facility nor a hospital,” said Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay.
For his part, BuCor Director General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. said Palparan remains detained at the NBP and changes in his detention status will be officially announced through proper channels “to ensure public clarity and trust.” — WITH A REPORT FROM INQUIRER RESEARCH
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