Palparan not out of the woods yet

The Commission on Human Rights will "delve deeper’’ into the human rights record of controversial retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan despite his having been cleared by the agency’s fact-finding team of rights abuses in Central Luzon.

CHR chairman Purificacion Quisumbing said the commission en banc will continue its investigation of Palparan, with the surviving victims and their families and other witnesses likely to be invited to testify.

"The fact-finding result simply means that not all evidence (was) submitted," she said. She did not say when the new probe would begin.

CHR commissioner-in-charge for Regions 3 to 5 Eligio Mallari earlier recommended the dismissal of the charges against Palparan, citing the absence of prima facie evidence. The retired general is branded as "the butcher’’ by militants.

Mallari, who heads the CHR Protection Group, said he is confident the commission en banc "will not dispute" his 20-page report. He stressed the fact-finding team’s recommendation clearing Palparan is based on "concrete evidence."

But Quisumbing recalled that in a case in Mindoro, the non-submission of evidence did not stop the CHR from pursuing the matter further.

She said that in the Gumanoy-Marcellana case in Mindoro, the CHR scored Palparan for failing to have the complaints of violations of human rights in his turf investigated by appropriate military authorities.

"Cooperation and participation of the victims and their families, and also the witnesses is important in this investigation for justice to be properly served," the CHR chief stressed.

At the same time, the CHR reiterated its call for the government to exert more effort to stop the spate of political killings.

The CHR reminded the government of its commitment to protect its citizens from human rights violations, being a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

The CHR is mandated to monitor the government’s compliance with international treaty on human rights.

Quisumbing said that General Comment No. 6 of the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) stipulates that, "state parties should take measures not only to prevent and punish deprivation of life by criminal acts, but also to prevent arbitrary killing by their own security forces."