One human rights violator is in jail because of the persistence and courage of victims’ families, eyewitnesses and human rights workers to work for justice.  Ret. Major Gen. Jovito Palparan is now jailed in Bulacan after having been presented in court last August 18.  He was arrested last August 12 for the abduction and torture of University of the Philippines students Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan.

Palparan was the main actor in Oplan Bantay Laya I and II underwhich more than a thousand extrajudicial killings, and hundreds of enforced disappearances were perpetrated.  Palparan was unleashed, lauded and hailed by then Commander in Chief Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.  He was made a role model for the implementation of the government’s counter-insurgency program and policy that resulted to the most brazen human rights violations perpetrated with impunity with 5 extrajudicial killings of activists in a week during its height.  Oplan Bantay Laya was the State policy that legitimized the enforced disappearance of James Balao.  It was the State policy that legitimized the extrajudicial killings of 9 farmer-hunters in the Cordillera from 2003-2010 and the extrajudicial killings of activists Romy Sanchez, Jose ‘Pepe’ Manegdeg III, Albert Terredano, Jose Doton, Rafael Markus Bangit and Alyce Claver.

Palparan’s being in jail is among the strongest testaments to State fascism.  The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the State are violators of human rights and they have to be held accountable.

What must be exacted?

Justice.

It has to be exacted to hold Palparan and Arroyo accountable for their violations.  It has to be exacted hold the other Palparans in the AFP accountable.  It has to be exacted to stop the fascist State policies and the State that creates violators like Palparan.

Palparan is not the only butcher in the Armed Forces of the Philippines.  Impunity has not been shattered with his arrest.

The continuing violations committed by State security forces patterned after Palparan’s style and in implementation of State security policy remains.  We speak of the continuing extrajudicial killings in the country since 2010.  We speak of the massacre of Ama Licuben, Eddie and Fermin Ligiw in Abra by the 41st Infantry Battalion (IB).  We speak of the extrajudicial killing of human rights worker William Bugatti.  We speak of the terror brought about by State security forces who trample on people’s rights and do so with the premise that they will not be held accountable for it.

Villages in the Cordillera are currently subjected to militarization as troops under the 5th Infantry Division (ID) of the AFP implement Operation Plan Bayanihan.  They wage war against the people, especially those resisting imperialist plunder and those asserting people’s rights and self-determination.  Soldiers encamp in villages occupying schools, barangay halls and homes, inflict harm on women and children and desecrate indigenous socio-political structures and practices.  Community people become targets of military operations or targets of reprisals of State security forces especially in the aftermath of their armed engagements with the New People’s Army (NPA).   These are also in reminder of what Palparan did during the implementation of Oplan Lambat Bitag in the Cordillera in the late 1980s and early 90s and what he has yet to be accountable for.

It took years before the arrest of Palparan was made putting in question the sincerity of the Aquino administration to facilitate the delivery of justice.  The arrest was done at this time when the Aquino administration is at its desperate throes of propping up its rule. The arrest was done while the Aquino administration implements Oplan Bayanihan which is no different from Oplan Bantay Laya.  The arrest was done in contrast after political prisoners, men and women – now more than 500, were unjustly arrested and put behind bars because they were defying State repression and because trumped up charges were filed against them.  The most recent case is that of Mr. Eduardo Esteban – a 60- year old businessman from Iloilo – arrested in Jaro, Iloilo and brought to the Abra Provincial Jail.  For the PHP 5.8 M bounty to be collected, the AFP has alleged him to be the Mr. Manuel Esteban they have accused to be a top-ranking leader of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).  Yesterday, August 20, the AFP awarded PHP 3.2 M to the “tipster” to the November 2012 arrest of Grayson Naogsan – son of Cordillera Peoples Democratic Front spokesperson Filiw Naogsan.  Esteban and Naogsan are unjustly detained at the Abra Provincial Jail because of trumped up charges.

Working for justice is a continuing challenge.  We stand by the Empeno and Cadapan families who represent all victims of human rights violations and their families in the case against Palparan and violators like him.  The people’s courage and perseverance, in the end will prevail against the violators of human rights and against the fascist State.

For reference:
Audrey Beltran
Deputy Secretary General
Cordillera Human Rights Alliance
Mobile no.  09189199007

Cordillera Human Rights Alliance
55 ferguson road
baguio city, philippines
telefax: +63. 74. 443. 7159
telephone:  +63 74 304 4239
cp:  +63 918 919 9007
email: chra.karapatan@gmail.com

The recent controversial appointment of former Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (SC) is another brazen maneuver by President BS Aquino for him to be able to continue corrupt practices as Pork Barrel King and to secure Cojuangco-Aquino interests in Hacienda Luisita.

As Solicitor-General, Jardeleza repeatedly echoed the Cojuangco-Aquinos’s position, practically undermining the SC’s landmark decision on land distribution and truthful accounting of Hacienda Luisita, Inc. (HLI) assets. As Justice, Jardeleza is expected by BS Aquino to defend and eventually declare “legal” the sham land distribution implemented by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and all other anomalies by the Aquino regime in Hacienda Luisita.  

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By APCCHRP

We in the Asia Pacific Coordinating Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (APCCHRP), a campaign network of human rights advocates in the region, welcome the arrest of former Gen. Jovito Palparan. Also known as “The Butcher” among human rights defenders, he had evaded arrest for many years after being charged with the abduction, torture and involuntary disappearance of student activists Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan in Central Luzon, Philippines.

At the same time, we voice concern that this showcased apprehension of such a high-profile human rights violator will be used as a smokescreen for the continuing extrajudicial killings and abductions under the government of President Benigno Aquino III.

Just last August 9, two student activists from the University of the Philippines (UP), namely Guiller Cadano and Gerald Salonga, were abducted by the police and military in the province of Nueva Ecija, and filed with trumped up charges. This illegal arrest, occuring in the same province where Empeño and Cadapan had been detained and tortured, signals the fact that abductions and the filing of trumped-up charges by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) continues to this day.

While Gen. Eduardo Año, chief of the Intelligence Services of the AFP (ISAFP) which led the manhunt for Palparan (who also carried a 2-million peso prize on his head) triumphalizes on the apprehension of his erstwhile military colleague, it must be remembered that he himself is being held to account for numerous human rights violations during his stint that followed Palparan’s reign of terror in Central Luzon, such as the involuntary disappearance of agriculturist Jonas Burgos. Even then, he was lauded and appointed by President Aquino himself to head the AFP’s intelligence wing.

We also cannot but be troubled by recent developments in the country’s human rights situation. In the first quarter of this year alone, 22 people have already fallen victim to extrajudicial killings and massacres. This includes William Bugatti, a staff-member of the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance (CHRA), a member organization of human rights alliance KARAPATAN. Last August 6, Hildegardo Hernandez, a peasant organizer in Quezon province was shot by a motorcycle-riding man, a style of political assassination linked to the AFP’s “death squads” that proliferated during Palparan’s time.

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

We believe that the apprehension alone of Palparan, while a positive first step, falls short of the redress expected by the victims’ families as well as the recommendations of erstwhile UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston. The culture of impunity that has been in place since Arroyo’s term has created military monsters such as Palparan, but it is also deeply entrenched in the dominant, US-influenced mindset of the AFP that is underpinned by the National Security doctrine. It is the same mindset that has led to the derailing of the peace negotiations between the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GPH).

The APCCHRP is calling on the Aquino government to prosecute Palparan case rigorously, but even more importantly, to bring to justice other perpetrators of human rights violations under the Arroyo regime as well as those under his own watch. We also urge the Philippine government to return to the negotiating table with the NDFP and resume the stalled peace talks, a move that should significantly improve human rights prospects in the country.

Endorsed by:
Hong Kong Campaign for the Advancement of Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines
(HKCAHRPP)

For reference:
Joselito Natividad
APCCHRP coordinator
(64986079)

Eman Villanueva
HKCAHRPP co-convenor
(97585935)

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Hong Kong Campaign for the Advancement of
Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines
c/o ASA, No. 4 Jordan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR
Tel. (852) 98105070, 97585935        Fax. (852) 27354559
E-mail: hkcahrpp@gmail.com

By Hustisya

Long before supertyphoon Yolanda wreaked havoc in Eastern Visayas that claimed thousands of lives and damage to millions of property, Jovito Palparan’s military-instigated tragedy first struck the region.

Two days after his arrest, victims and survivors of Palparan in the provinces of Samar and Leyte joined the call for a speedy convition of the “butcher”.

“I felt a sense of fulfillment, even a little, that Palparan has been arrested. We will look into filing more charges against him. He should account to his crimes in our region and to members of our church as well.

“We urge all other victims of Palparan to come forward and do the same,” said Emma Lapuz, widow of United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) pastor Rev. Edison Lapuz.

Rev. Lapuz and Alberto Malinao, a leader of local peasant organization, were both shot dead outside the former’s house on 12 May 2005. The pastor was then conference minister of the UCCP and chairperson of Karapatan (Katungod-Sinirangang Bisayas) in the region.

Palparan has earned the rank of major general in 2004 when he was appointed commander of the 8th Infantry Batallion of the Philippine Army, covering the area of Region VIII, the provinces of Samar and Leyte.

In a span of six months, from February to August of 2005, Palparan and his men unleashed a bloody campaign of terror and mayhem upon the people of Leyte and Samar and claimed 19 victims of extrajudicial killings, 12 victims of enforced disappearances and 25 victims of torture in Eastern Visayas.

“The killings in 2005 were intensive and wihout let-up. Only days and weeks separated the series of murders. Victims were leaders and members of different people’s organizations branded by Palparan as fronts of the Communist Party of the Philippines and New People’s Army,” said Cristina Guevarra, secretary general of Hustisya.

On 14 March 2005, Atty. Felidito C. Dacut, regional coordinator of Bayan Muna Eastern Visayas, was shot dead by two unidentified men on board a motorcycle. Riding on a multi-cab, Dacut just came from a meeting at the the Bayan Muna regional headquarters in Tacloban.

Also, there were nine victims and survivors of frustrated killings. One of them was Dario Tomada, a peasant leader in Leyte, who narrowly escaped an assassination attempt against him inside his house in Kananga, Leyte on 7 May 2005. He and his brother survived the attack.

While in a sanctuary in Manila, however, he was arrested in July 2010 and is facing trumped-up charges of multiple murder as one of the John Does in the case, along with Jose Maria Sison and Satur Ocampo. Tomada is in detention at the Manila City Jail.

“Like what he did in Mindoro, Palparan hamletted communities of farmers and ordinary folks. They were hauled and forced to undergo intensive interrogations, coerced to sign documents incriminating themselves being rebels and made to appear as rebel surrenderees pervaded in the farflung communities,” said Guevarra.

Emma will be joining other victims of Palparan from Southern Luzon and Central Luzon to demand the speedy trial and conviction of Palparan on Friday.

“Communities in Eastern Visayas were subjected to food blockades, enforced curfews and regular census by the military. Suspected rebel sympathizers and activists when not being murdered in broad daylight were snatched out and never been heard,” said Guevarra.

A protest action will also be held on the next hearing of the kidnapping case against Palparan on 18 August at the Malolos Regional Trial Court. He is set to be arraigned on 28 February 2015.

Reference:
Cristina Guevarra
Hustisya secretary general
+63949-1772928

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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