Press statement | Karapatan: Capture of Palparan does not end impunity

Press Statement
August 13, 2014

Reference: Cristina “Tinay” Palabay, Secretary General, 0917-3162831
Angge Santos, Media Liaison, 0918-9790580

 

"Let's get this straight. The arrest of Ret. Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan does not end impunity in the country," Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said a day after the capture of Palparan. "The machinery of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) that perpetuates Palparan-style human rights violations against the Filipino people is very much active in implementing Oplan Bayanihan," Palabay said.

"The AFP generals and commanders who have the same anti-communist stance as Palparan are in key positions and are calling the shots. They even lauded Palparan’s campaign of terror against the so-called rebels that actually victimized unarmed civilians," Palabay added.

Palabay said Gen. Eduardo Año, chief of the Intelligence Service of the AFP, who boasts of Palparan’s arrest is also accountable for numerous violations such as the disappearance of agriculturist Jonas Burgos. Año is said to have continued Palparan’s reign of terror in Central Luzon, after Palparan’s stint in the region. “Aquino glorifies Palparan’s protégés like Gen. Año by promoting them to higher positions in the AFP, the same way Palparan was extolled by Gloria Arroyo then,” Palabay added.

"The arrest of Palparan will not improve the human rights situation in the Philippines as long counterinsurgency programs are used to quell people’s dissent instead of addressing the root causes of the armed conflict," Palabay said.

Palabay cited the case of University of the Philippines graduates, Guiller Cadano and Gerald Salonga, whom the police and military abducted and jailed on August 9. The illegal arrest, akin to that of the Morong 43 health workers jailed under the Arroyo regime, shows that the abductions and the filing of trumped up charges by the AFP continue.

On July 27, 2014, hooded men abducted Benjie Gomez, who later ended up in jail for trumped up charges of murder. Gomez is a staff of Dinteg (Cordillera Indigenous People’s Legal Center) for its project “Enhancing the Capacity of Indigenous Peoples on Human Rights-Based Approach to Development” funded by the European Union.

Gomez is charged with the murder of Cpl. Marwin Ybanez who was allegedly killed in an armed encounter between the AFP and the NPA in the Municipality of Leon B. Postigo, Zamboanga del Norte in December 2012. He is presently detained at the Bitoon, Sindangan, Zamboanga del Norte District Jail. There are two more trumped-up charges pressed against him at the region’s Prosecutor Office.

"Extrajudicial killings continue," Palabay said. She cited the case of Hildegardo “Gil” Hernandez, a peasant organizer of Pagkakaisa ng Magsasaka at Tagapagtaguyod ng Ikalawang Distrito ng Quezon (PAMATID-CQ) who was shot in the afternoon of August 6 in a highway in Candelaria, Quezon province by
a motorcycle-riding man. The killer came off from the motorcycle and shot Hernandez. Hernandez was already on the ground but the killer continued to shoot the victim. Hernandez died on the spot.

As of June 30, 2014, Karapatan has documented 204 victims of extrajudicial killings under the BS Aquino government. There are also 21 victims of enforced disappearances, 99 cases of torture, 664 illegal arrests and detention, and 39,800 victims of forced evacuation.

“These rights violations perpetuated by the AFP and the Aquino government will not be covered up the arrest of Palparan," Palabay reiterated, “for there are other Palparans in the AFP”.

Palabay specifically mentioned Palparan's pal, Gen. Ricardo Visaya, who is now the commander of the 4th ID in Northern Mindanao. Visaya, as notorious as Palparan, is accountable for the gross human rights violations in Hacienda Luisita, including the massacre in 2004 that killed farm workers who protested their PhP 9 peso wage and devious land distribution scheme within the hacienda.

Gen. Año is the incoming commander of the 10th Infantry "Agila" Division in Davao Region. "This poses more threat to the people of the Davao region, specifically Compostella Valley who are already faced with terror by intense counter-insurgency operations," Palabay said.

Gen. Año is also involved in the arrest of peace consultants of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Benito Tiamzon and Wilma Austria-Tiamzon. The arrest is a violation of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) between the GPH and the NDFP. ###


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Alliance for the Advancement of People's Rights2nd Flr. Erythrina Bldg., #1
Maaralin corner Matatag Sts., Central District Diliman, Quezon City,
PHILIPPINES 1101Telefax: (+63 2) 4354146Web:http://www.karapatan.org
<http://www.karapatan.org/>

KARAPATAN is an alliance of human rights organizations and programs, human rights desks and committees of people’s organizations, and individual advocates committed to the defense and promotion of people’s rights and civil liberties. It monitors and documents cases of human rights violations, assists and defends victims and conducts education, training and campaign. 

Press release Palparan's arrogance, a coward’s mask—Desaparecidos

desaparecidos pilipinas

8:34 AM (11 hours ago)

Press Release:

August 13, 2014

Reference: Aya Santos, secretary general

Contact Number: 09088121982/4354146

"Siya pa itong mayabang, pero sa totoo lang duwag siya! (He is arrogant, but in truth he is a coward!),” Aya Santos, Desaparesidos secretary general said referring to Ret. Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan in reaction to the latter's “privilege” of holding a press conference yesterday at the National Bureau of Investigation. 

The families of the desaparecidos and other victims of Palparan were particularly irked by his statement that what he did, the killings and abduction of unarmed civilians, was for the “good of the people”.

"He even had the nerve to say that everything he did is for the people! Ang kapal ng mukha!" said Santos. "Was it good for those who were orphaned; was it good for those tortured? Was it good for those who were molested and raped?" Santos asked.

"I wonder where Palparan gets his arrogance. What victory has he achieved in the battlefield against the New People's Army? All those areas where he was assigned as commander are still considered by the military as strongholds of the NPA," Santos said.

"What he and his gang in the military claim as Palparan’s achievement is the cold-bloodied killing and disappearance of unarmed civilians he victimized. What he cannot do in the battlefield, he does to those who could not fight back. It’s disgusting!" Santos said. "Coward as he is, he tried to elude arrest and escaped from his charges."

Ret. Maj. Gen. Palparan is charged with two counts of kidnapping and serious illegal detention for abducting and disappearance of University of the Philippines students Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan in June 2006. He eluded arrest for almost three years.

Raymond Manalo, a farmer from San Ildefonso, Bulacan who was also abducted by the 56th Infantry Division, said  he met the two women during his military captivity at Camp Tecson. Manalo saw how the two women were tortured. 

"Uniformed men like Palparan deserves nothing less than a conviction and the highest form of punishment. This should be done swiftly," Santos said.

Desaparecidos calls on all survivors and families of victims of Palparan and his killer battalions to come out and tell their stories. "He should be made accountable to ALL of his and his men's sins," Santos said.

From the initial count, Karapatan documented 38 enforced disappearances in Central Luzon during Gen. Palparan's reign, 12 in Eastern Visayas, and five in Mindoro.

A gathering of the Palparan's victims is scheduled on Friday, August 15, to collectively call for Palparan's conviction. ###

Press statement ! With Palparan now within reach of the law, not too late for justice to catch up

Press Statement

12 August 2014

As today dawns, almost three years after a Bulacan court ordered his arrest, retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan is now within the reach of the law and hopefully, Lady Justice with the sword and the scales.

Although long in coming, it's never too late for justice to catch up. Palparan's arrest comes as the defense for two other accused military officers prepares to wrap up on Monday, 18 August 2014, when his own will begin.

What happens thereafter will come under close scrutiny, here and abroad. Palparan must face the music and the full wrath of the Furies for all the crimes credibly imputed to him - extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture, arbitrary arrests and other gross human rights violations, all done without compunction and aggravated by his signature braggadocio.

He must be treated no different than any other in jail, and made to wait out the time until judgment day.

Palparan's arrest is an important reminder of how persistence and firm resolve of victims, their families and human rights defenders pay off in the long run.

For even those who place themselves above the law meet their match, and more pointedly, those who take the law into their own hands can find no permanent refuge in fantasies of invincibility.

His arrest is also a challenge to our legal and political system, inasmuch as it is a measure of moral fortitude and rectitude.

With boundless hope and bated breath, mayhap justice find its place amidst tragedy and the many lives that have been snatched, futures destroyed and agonizing years that have passed.


Reference:

Edre U. Olalia
NUPL Secretary General
+639175113373

*NUPL serves as private prosecutors in People v. Palparan, the case for abduction and torture of the two UP students Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan.

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National Secretariat
National Union of Peoples' Lawyers (NUPL)
3F Erythrina Bldg., Maaralin corner Matatag Sts. Central District,Quezon City, Philippines
Telefax no.920-6660
Email addresses: nupl2007@gmail.com and nuplphilippines@yahoo.com

Follow us on twitter @nuplphilippines and facebook @https://www.facebook.com/nuplphilippines
Visit the NUPL website at http://www.nupl.net/

News release | “See you in court” Desaparecidos welcomes arrest but demands Palparan to be in a regular jail

Reference: Aya Santos, Desaparecidos secretary general, +63908-812982

"Families of the disappeared should see Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan in Malolos Court on Monday, August 18, in the hearing of the case against him. There is no reason why he should not be there," said Lorena “Aya" Santos, secretary general of Families of Desaparecidos for Justice.

"While we welcome butcher Palparan's arrest, we remain more vigilant to see through that justice be served soon," Santos said. Palparan is currently facing charges of kidnapping and serious illegal detention at the Malolos Regional Trial Court for the abduction and disappearance of University of the Philippines students Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan in 2006.

Palparan is accountable for at least 59 victims of enforced disappearances: five victims in Mindoro, 42 victims in Central Luzon, and 12 in Eastern Visayas.

"Palparan's arrest comes in such a convenient timing to pull up BS Aquino's falling trust ratings," Santos said. "As BS Aquino is being made accountable for the unconstitutionality of the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) and many other issues, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested one of the most wanted men who have eluded arrest for more than two years; and, eight years after the Karen and Sherlyn were abducted, tortures and disappeared," Santos said.

"Let this be not an attempt to gain pogi points for BS Aquino government. It is because of the courage of the mothers of Karen and Sherlyn and the popular call of the people for justice that Palparan, Lt. Col. Felipe  Anotado and Sgt. Edgardo Osorio are now face charges in court," Santos said. M/Sgt. Rizal Hilario, also a co-accused in the case, remains to be a fugitive.

"We demand that Palparan be imprisoned in a regular jail and not in a military custody," Santos ended. ###

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Alliance for the Advancement of People's Rights

2nd Flr. Erythrina Bldg., #1 Maaralin corner Matatag Sts., Central District

Diliman, Quezon City, PHILIPPINES 1101

Telefax: (+63 2) 4354146

Web: http://www.karapatan.org

BALITA | GEN. JOVITO PALPARAN, FUGITIVE PAR EXCELLENT - NAHULI NA SA MANILA

Posted by Belarmino Dabalos Saguing

Rome, Italy, 12/08/2014

Matapos ang halos tyatlong tan na pagtatago, nahuli ang dating Herneral ng Phiklippine Army na si Jovito Palparan na tinaguriang Berdugo dahil sa record niya bilang mamamatay.  Hinihinalang nasa likod siya ng pagkawala nhg maraming pinaghihinalaang mga aktibista. At may-akda ng halos di mabilang na sapilitang pagkawala at pagpatay sa marami na ginawa ng mga military sqa ilalim ng kanyang command.

Siya ay nadakip ng mga tauhan ng NBI sa Manila sa bandang 11:30 ng gabi ng Agosto 11 2014. Sumuko din sa maykapangyarihan ang mayari ng bahay na tinitigilan ng dating heneral.

Si Palparan ay pinaghahanap ng may-kapangyarihan dahil sa kaso ng kidnapping at illegal detention with torture sa mga kabataang Karen Empeno at Sheryl Cadapan, mga estudyante ng UP na noon ay nasa isang field trip sa Bulacan kung saan sila dinukot ng mga ahente ng militar.

Iginiit ni Palparan na ayon sa ulat ng kanyang tagapagsubaybay, ang dalawang kabataan ay hindi estudyante ng UP kundi mga full time na kagawad ng NPA. Ang kanyang yunit ay kilabot sa maraming kaso ng extrajudicial killings at enforced disappearance sa bansa.

Dahil sa napakaselan ng kaso, may pabuyang P2M sa sinumang makakapagturo sa pinagtataguan ni Palparan.

HUSTISYA News release | Rights group Hustisya calls for release of UP Pampanga students

News Release
11 August 2014

Reference: Cristina Guevarra, Hustisya secretary general +63949-1772928 

Rights group Hustisya on Sunday called for the immediate release of two UP Pampanga students, who were abducted Saturday afternoon in a Nueva Ecija town and were later found at the PNP Provincial Public Safety Company Headquarters in Cabanatuan City.
 

“The PNP should be accountable for their illegal arrest and detention. We demand for their immediate release,” said Cristina Guevarra, Hustisya secretary general.
 

Gerald Salonga and Guiller Cadano, who both studied in UP Diliman Extension Program in Pampanga, were reportedly taken by unidentified men in two vehicles in the afternoon of August 9.
 

“Style na bulok na ito ng PNP at AFP. Mandurukot sila ng mga aktibista. Pagkapos nilang magtanim ng ebidensya, saka sila magsasampa ng kitang-kita naman na gawa-gawang kaso laban sa mga inaresto (This is a rotten tactic of the PNP and AFP. They will abduct activists. After they have planted evidence, then they will file obviously trumped-up charges against those arrested),” said Guevarra.

Guevarra said the PNP should be condemned for its “rotten tactics” of filing trumped-up charges against activists, which resulted to the arrest and detention of more than 200 political prisoners under the Aquino government. There are currently 499 political prisoners under Pres. Aquino.

According to initial reports gathered by Karapatan Central Luzon, the two will be charged with illegal possession of firearms.
 

The group hit the Aquino government for continuing illegal arrests and filing of trumped-up charges against activists, including youth and students, while it has not arrested Jovito Palparan, who abducted missing UP students Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan.
 

“The Aquino government has never rendered justice for the victims of human rights violators in the past. Pres. Aquino is equally accountable now for human rights violations committed under his watch. Ang hulihin nyo si Palparan, hindi itong mga kabataan! (You should arrest Palparan and not these youth activists!),” said Guevarra. ###

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Hustisya National Office

2/F #1 Maaralin cor. Matatag Sts. 

Central District, Diliman

Quezon City 1100 Philippines

Telephone: (02) 434-7486 | (02) 435-4146

Mobile: 0949-1772928

E-mail: hustisya.national@gmail.com

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SCIENTIST GARGAR RECOUNTS EXPERIENCE IN JAIL, SEEKS JUSTICE FOR PERSECUTION UNDER AQUINO GOV'T

Press Release
August 9, 2014

Reference:
Kim Gargar, physicist, member of Agham Advocates of Science for the People                                    ,+639212327094.

Kim Gargar (Downloaded photo)

Groups and family showed support to physicist Kim Gargar who was arrested, detained and released on bail as he relate his case and calls on the dropping of made-up charges against him in a press conference today.


Kim Gargar, a former UP professor and PhD candidate of Groningen University in the Netherlands was arrested by elements of the 67th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army on October 1, 2013 at Brgy. Aliwagwag, Cateel, Davao Oriental while conducting a rehabilitation study on typhoon-Pablo devastated areas. He was then accused of being part of the armed group that the military fought with in a nearby village to where Gargar stayed.


“I owe my release to the groups and individuals who tirelessly campaigned and gave their support in various ways," Gargar said. "No thanks to the Aquino government who make it hard for political prisoners like me to regain our liberty and go about in helping marginalized communities."


Gargar was detained at Baganga jail, charged with illegal possession of explosives, several counts of attempted and frustrated murder and violation of Comelec gun ban.


The Baganga Regional Trial Court found the testimonies of witnesses against him to be "full of material inconsistencies" and on August 1, 2014, Kim Gargar was granted bail and released after 10 months of imprisonment.


"Despite the efforts of the government to suppress my freedom and keep me from doing my work, I am grateful to have lived with other detainees who are also neglected by the government,” the ex-UP teacher added.


He lamented that, "The situation inside the prison cell is no different from the situation that led me to Mindanao in the first place. Almost two years after typhoon Pablo, people were left to recover by themselves without government help and are still seeking rehabilitation. My detainment has only strengthened my conviction to help others."


"After my ordeal, I now understand why there are increasing number of Filipinos who are critical of the government. But what I find hard to understand is why Aquino had to suppress and vilify those who want genuine change if he is really for the welfare of the country."


Gargar vowed, "to seek justice for my fellow inmates at the Baganga and Mati jails, express solidarity to other political prisoners all over the country and continue struggling for the survivors of typhoons and disasters in the country. " He expressed his support to the calls for the resumption of GPH-NDF peace talks in order to address the socio-economic problems besetting the nation.


Task Force Justice for Environmental Defenders (TFJED) spokesperson Leon Dulce emphasized that "the case of Kim is an example of the hostility of the Aquino government towards people who are either pushing for genuine reforms or opposing the current policies and projects of the state." Dulce cited, "We have monitored at least 37 killings of environmental defenders and development workers who until know have not been granted justice."


This is not the first time that the AFP have falsely accused innocent scientists and researchers doing fieldwork in remote areas. Dulce cited the case of botanist Leonard Co, along w

ith four companions, who were doing research work for the Energy Development Corporation (EDC) in Upper Mahiao, Lim-ao, Kananga in Leyte province on November 15, 2010 when the research team was fired upon by elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ 19th Infantry Batallion who mistook them for members of New People's Army. Co, Cortez and Borromeo were killed.


In the press conference of the Free Kim Gargar (FKG) Alliance, the group said while colleagues, family and friends welcome Kim's release on bail, the call on the court to drop all trumped-up charges against Kim still stand. The FKG campaign will also continue to the call on the Aquino government to uphold human rights and release all the political prisoners in the country.


Press Release
August 9, 2014

Reference:
Kim Gargar, physicist, member of Agham Advocates of Science for the People,+639212327094.

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Make science and technology serve the people!

ADVOCATES OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FOR THE PEOPLE (AGHAM)
127-B Scout Fuentebella St. corner Sacred Heart, Kamuning, Quezon City
T: +63 2 998 4226

URL: www.agham.org