No Palparan as NBI swoops down on suspected lairs

ANGELES CITY ,Philippines  — Agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) swooped down yesterday on areas near Fort Magsaysay in Bongabon, Nueva Ecija where tipsters from the military claimed that fugitive retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan was seen.

The 7th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army, which Palparan used to command, is based at Fort Magsaysay.

However, NBI regional director Ricardo Diaz told The STAR that the search by his team yielded no Palparan, whose capture carries a reward of P1 million.

Diaz, who led his team tasked to serve the warrant of arrest against Palparan, said he and his men plan to do more searches in the afternoon in “areas covered by the Army’s 7th Infantry Division which he used to command.”

“Even when the reward was still P500,000, we already got several tips from various sources and they all are being validated,” he said.

Diaz said their search mission in the vicinity of Fort Magsaysay was based on tipsters from the military.

“The court order to arrest Palparan was for the NBI and the police to implement, not the military. But they are helping us,” Diaz said.

He said the obligation of the NBI is only “to serve the warrant of arrest and bring him (Palparan) into the judicial process.”

“I don’t even want to use the word ‘surrender’ in appealing to Palparan since the word is probably anathema to a general like him, so my appeal for him is to put himself in the judicial process and we assure him of protection and safety,” he said.

Diaz said he has no deadline for his mission, as he admitted difficulty in tracking down “a general with skills in escaping and evasion and a master of disguise.”

Palparan was ordered arrested by a Bulacan court after he was indicted for the disappearance of University of the Philippines student activists Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño in 2006. He also has a hold departure order against him issued by the Bureau of Immigration.

Meanwhile, the Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luzon (AMGL) has joined the nationwide manhunt for Palparan.

“Palparan imposed the reign of terror in Central Luzon that implemented the countless extra-judicial killings of activists and supporters. He is indebted to farmers and various sectors of the region,” said AMGL chair Joseph Canlas.