AFP: Palparan on his own

MANILA, Philippines - Retired general Jovito Palparan Jr. is now on his own as he will be facing his criminal charges without legal assistance from the military.

Armed Forces public affairs chief Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said the military would not provide him legal assistance because he is no longer part of the service.

“Maj. Gen. Palparan is already retired and we have no jurisdiction over him so whatever legal remedy he needs, he must get it in his capacity as a civilian,” Zagala said in a press briefing on Wednesday.

“He is retired form active military service and the Armed Forces of the Philippines has no jurisdiction over him,” he added.

Palparan, tagged as the brains behind the disappearance of University of the Philippines students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno, was arrested last Tuesday in Sta. Mesa, Manila after hiding from authorities for three years.

He is facing kidnapping and serious illegal detention charges and is now under the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation.

Cadapan and Empeno were said to be doing “field work” when they went missing in Bulacan in 2006.

Palparan is idolized by many soldiers for his vigorous campaign against insurgency but is vilified by activists for his supposed involvement in human rights violations.

Security officials previously claimed that no active soldier coddled Palparan while he was a fugitive.

 “He has never sought refuge in any military camp,” Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Maj. Gen. Eduardo Año said in an interview last Tuesday.

Two Army soldiers still detained in Fort Bonifacio

Zagala said the two active soldiers who were also implicated in the case are still detained at the Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio.

The two suspects, identified as Lt. Col. Felipe Anotado Jr., S/Sgt. Edgardo Osorio, are now staying at the Army Custodial Center.

“They are in our custody by virtue of a commitment order by Judge Teodora Gonzalez of Malolos Regional trial court Branch 14,” Zagala said. 

He also cited Executive Order no. 106, which states that active military officers may be detained at a military detention facility for their safety.

Zagala claimed that the two officers are not receiving special treatment.

“It (custodial center) is the same as what you would find in civilian jails,” he said.

Meanwhile, the military claimed that it does not have a “M/Sgt. Rizal Hilario” in its roster. Hilario is one of the respondents in the case involving the disappearance of Cadapan and Empeno

“There is no M/Sgt. Rizal Hilario in the roster of the Philippine Army. We can’t act on him. He is not in the roster of our troops,” Zagala said.