Jovito Palparan

Jovito Salvaña Palparan Jr. (born September 11, 1950) is a retired Army general and politician. From July 2003 to July 2004, he was the commander of the Philippine Humanitarian Contingent in the Iraq War. He also served as a Congressman representing the Bantay party-list group in the 14th Congress of the Philippines.

He earned the nickname "Berdugo" ("The Executioner") for his alleged^[1] involvement in numerous human rights violations, such as the Murder of Eden Marcellana and Eddie Gumanoy and the Disappearance of Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno. He was arrested in Manila in 2014 after three years of hiding.

On September 17, 2018, Palparan was sentenced to life imprisonment, after being convicted of kidnapping and serious illegal detention over the enforced disappearances of Cadapan and Empeno in 2006.^[2]

Early life[]

Jovito Salvaña Palparan, Jr. was born on September 11, 1950, in Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental. He earned a degree in business administration from the University of the East in Manila in 1971. Palparan later earned a master's degree in management from the Philippine Christian University in 1994, and a master's degree in national security administration from the National Defense College of the Philippines in 1999.^[3]

Military career[]

Palparan was called to active duty in the Armed Forces of the Philippines in 1973.^[3] As a lieutenant, he served in Basilan and Sulu for eight years.^[3] Palparan's first combat duty was in the island of Siasi, Sulu with the 24th Infantry Battalion in January 1974 but his first encounter was in Indanan, Sulu when MNLF fighters attacked the 24th Inf. Bn. after the burning of Jolo, Sulu in February 1974 where he earned his first combat medal. He was almost dismissed from the service when he led 12 soldiers of 24IB known as Wildcats in the rescue of a fellow Wildcat who was attacked by Marine soldiers leading to one of the biggest mis-encounters among AFP units that took place in the Pier of Zamboanga City in August 1974. While pursuing Uzman Sali's Group that massacred B.Gen. Teodulfo Bautista, Palparan and his Delta Company, 24IB encountered the group of about 150 rebels in Mt Sinumaan, Patikul, Sulu on February 24, 1978. He lost 13 soldiers and many others were wounded in a day long encounter. The MNLF suffered 21 killed in action. 2nd.Lt. Palparan was awarded a Gold Cross Medal. He retired from his military career on September 11, 2006, on his 56th birthday.^[4]

Anti-communism[]

Palparan was assigned in Mindoro and Romblon from May 2001 to April 2003 as commander of the 204th Brigade.^{[citation needed]}

From February to August 2005, Palparan was the Commanding General of the 8th Infantry (Storm Troopers) Division in Eastern Visayas.^[5] He has been credited with reducing the rebel presence in Samar by 80 percent, and claims he could have eliminated the rebel presence completely had he been given an extension of duty.^[3] From September 2005 until his retirement in September 2006, Palparan was the Commanding General of the 7th Infantry (Kaugnay) Division in Central Luzon.^[3]

In the 2006 State of the Nation Address, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo acknowledged Palparan's successes in offenses against members of the New People's Army.^[3]

Human rights abuses[]

Palparan has been accused of having a role in extrajudicial abductions and killings of government critics during his military service. He has denied any link to any such killings, and has been cleared of rights abuses by the military through an internal and informal investigation in which no records were kept.^[5][6] A probe by the Philippine Commission on Human Rights has also found that there is no direct evidence indicating that Palparan is the mastermind, but there is circumstantial evidence linking some members of the military, to the killings.^[7] The Melo Report stated that, "there is certainly evidence pointing the finger of suspicion at some elements and personalities in the armed forces, in particular General Palparan, as responsible for an undetermined number of killings, by allowing, tolerating, and even encouraging the killings."^[6]

Iraq War[]

Palparan was commander of the Philippine Humanitarian Contingent in Iraq, a force of 51 troops deployed in Iraq from July 2003 to July 2004. Following the withdrawal of Philippine troops from Iraq, Palparan was promoted to the rank of Major General in October 2004.^{[citation needed]}

Political career[]

Following his retirement from the military, Palparan has become the figurehead of Bantay, a political party that advocates anti-communism. In the 2007 congressional elections, Bantay garnered 169,869 votes and ranked 32nd among party-list groups, which was insufficient to allow it to send any representative to congress under the formula used at the time.^[8] However, in April 2009, the Supreme Court ruled that the number of seats in the House of Representatives be increased by 55, adopting a new formula for allotting seats to party list representatives. The ruling allowed Bantay to send Palparan as its representative to the House, and he was proclaimed on April 24, 2009.^[9]

He ran as an independent candidate for the Senate of the Philippines in the 2016 Philippine Senate election, sending his son, JC Palparan, to file his certificate for candidacy.^[10] He subsequently lost and placed 39th (out of 50 candidates) in the race for Senate, where he received only 1.87% of votes.^[11]

The disappearance of Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno[]

On June 26, 2006, Cadapan and Empeño who were both alumni of the University of the Philippines Diliman were abducted by suspected military men in Hagonoy, Bulacan, during the tenure of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo,^[12] and were accused of being members of the Communist Party of the Philippines. This incident took place at a time when Central Luzon was being driven by a fierce conflict between the government and the communist New People's Army.^[13] According to the official investigation, eyewitness Raymond Manolo stated that Palparan tortured Sherlyn by hitting her mouth and punching her breasts and stomach area until they bled. Palparan also slammed wooden planks against the victim so that Sherlyn would admit she is a communist, while Sherlyn kept on saying that she wanted to go home to her parents. Manolo also noted that he saw the military stealing from nearby villagers, burning down dead bodies using gasoline, and shooting a man who was riding a carabao due to farm work. Manolo's account also noted that in April 2007, he saw Sherlyn lying naked on a chair that had fallen on the floor, her wrist tied together, one leg tied down, while being hit by wooden planks, electrocuted, and afterwards being half-drowned. The military also played with her body, poking wooden objects inside Sherlyn's vagina, after finding out that Sherlyn was going to write a letter to somebody. Sherlyn, due to intense torture, blurted out that the letter was Karen's idea. The military then dragged Karen out from her cell, stripped her naked, tied her wrists and ankles, beaten, water-tortured, burned with cigarettes, and raped with pieces of wood. Manolo afterwards washed the two women's clothes, including their panties drenched with blood. Manolo also noted that the bucket of piss of the two women were filled with 'chunks of blood'.^[1][14]

On December 15, 2011, Palparan was indicted for 2 counts of kidnapping and serious illegal detention in connection with the abduction of still missing UP student activists Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño in 2006.

Despite claims that he would face all charges,^[15] he was caught attempting to leave the country^[16] on December 20, 2011, as a result of a hold departure order. He was not detained since the warrant was only released that afternoon and Palparan had gone into hiding. A manhunt [1] was undertaken to find Palparan. A reward of PHP500,000 (approximately US$10,000) was posted for information leading to the capture of Palparan.^[17][18] Also charged were Lt. Col. Felipe Anotado, Master Sgt. Rizal Hilario, Staff Sgt. Edgardo Osorio, and Marine Major Philippe Nicolas – a labor union lawyer. On January 5, 2012, the reward was raised to PHP1,000,000 (approximately US$20,000).^[19] On August 16, 2012, a PHP2 million reward was offered for information leading to Palparan's arrest.

He was the subject of a nationwide manhunt after being indicted for kidnapping and serious illegal detention until his arrest in 2014.^[20][21][22]

After years of hiding, Palparan was arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation in Manila. The retired general was arrested at about 3 a.m. in a neighborhood of Santa Mesa, Manila. Palparan did not resist the arrest.^[23]

On December 14, 2015, the Malolos Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 15 rejected Palparan's bid to be released on bail despite his plea that he is running for Senate.^[24]

On September 17, 2018, Palparan and his associates, former lieutenant colonel Felipe Anotado and former staff sergeant Edgardo Osorio were sentenced to life imprisonment, after being convicted of kidnapping and serious illegal detention over the enforced disappearances of Cadapan and Empeno in 2006. Along with his co-accused, the courts ordered each of them to pay PHP100,000 in civil indemnities and PHP200,000 for moral damages.^[2] Palparan appealed against his conviction the following day. On November 15, 2018, the Malolos City Regional Trial Court Branch 15 ultimately denied Palparan's plea, stating that Palparan failed to present new arguments in his motion for reconsideration filed on September 18 to convince the court to reverse its decision.^[25]

References[]

External links[]

• Jovito Palparan profile on GMANews.TV