How Jovito Palparan earned the 'Butcher' tag

MANILA, Philippines — Retired Major General Jovito Palparan J.,, infamously labeled as "Berdugo" or "The Butcher," fell Friday after three years in hiding from charges of numerous human rights violations including killings, torture and enforced disappearance.

Described as a ruthless, well-decorated warrior who rose from the military ranks, Palparan was the scourge of the so-called "people's armed struggle" and led anti-insurgency campaigns under President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's administration.

In her 2006 State of the Nation Address, Arroyo recognized Palparan for his ceaseless efforts to free rebel-held communities while condemning political killings.

"We will end the long oppression of barangays by rebel terrorists who kill without qualms, even their own. Sa mga lalawigang sakop ng 7th Division, nakikibaka sa paglaban si Jovito Palparan," Arroyo said.

The killings were noted in Palparan's areas of responsibility—Central Luzon, Eastern Visayas and Southern Tagalog. Palparan also figured in armed conflicts where women, children and elderly men were killed.

In the early days of his career, Palparan's men were accused of shooting Tausug children, saying they could become part of the insurgency once they were able to carry firearms.

Palparan has been linked to the alleged kidnapping of former University of the Philippines students Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan, who disappeared in Hagonoy, Bulacan supposedly while researching about peasant struggles in 2006.

Alleged witnesses of the abduction said the two girls were tortured, raped, and burned to death by troops under Palparan's command.

The deaths of human rights workers Eden Marcellana and peasant leader Eddie Gumanoy in Southern Tagalog, youth organizer Marvin Montabon, UCCP Pastor Edison Lapuz and lawyer Fedelito Dacut in Leyte and Bishop Alberto Ramento of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente were also among the hundreds of extrajudicial killings attributed to him.

Rights group Karapatan called the 24th Infantry Batallion under the 7th Division led by Palparan the "torture" battalion.

"There were 71 victims of extrajudicial killings, 14 victims of frustrated killing and five incidents of massacre," it said.

Related editorial: Manhunt for Palparan