BuCor: Palparan still in Bilibid

MANILA, Philippines — Convicted Army general Jovito Palparan remains detained at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa, the Bureau of Corrections said yesterday.

BuCor Director Gregorio Capatang Jr. made the statement amid reports that Palparan had been transferred to the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio City.

“That’s fake news,” Catapang said in an interview with “Storycon” on One News. “They can visit BuCor and see for themselves. General Palparan is there, in prison, serving his sentence.”

In a five-page manifestation, the mothers of University of the Philippines students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño asked the Supreme Court to compel the BuCor to disclose Palparan’s whereabouts.

Catapang also denied that the convict was brought out of Bilibid for a medical checkup.

“He was not brought to a hospital,” Catapang said, adding that personnel of the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) went to the NBP to check on the condition of Palparan on orders of Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro.

Catapang said Teodoro wanted the government to continue looking after the health and welfare of former soldiers, in recognition of their service to the nation, even if they have been convicted of heinous offenses.

The health checkups of former soldiers by VMMC personnel will be a regular activity, Catapang said.

Palparan is serving life in prison for the kidnapping and serious illegal detention of Cadapan and Empeño in 2006. The Court of Appeals affirmed his conviction in 2022. — Ghio Ong