The Quiboloy-owned Sonshine Media Network Incorporated (SMNI) recently aired a two-hour interview with Retired Army Major General Jovito Palparan who is detained at the New Bilibid Prison.
This is part of a program by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) which the network constantly aired.
CLAIM: Retired Army Major General Jovito Palparan is a victim of the campaign led by the Communist Party of the Philippines for his conviction on the kidnapping and serious illegal detention in the 2006 disappearance of University of the Philippines students Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan.
NTF-ELCAC Spokesperson Lorriane Badoy claimed communist legal fronts pushed for Palparan’s conviction due to his effectiveness in combatting the communist and its armed group New People’s Army and the National Democratic Front. She identified Attorney Edre Olalia, chair of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), as an urban operative of the CPP.
RATING: FALSE
FACTS
Palparan was declared guilty of kidnapping and serious illegal detention of Empeno and Cadapan on September 17, 2018 by Malolos Regional Trial Court Judge Alexander Tamayo on Criminal Case Number 3905-M-2011 and Criminal Case Number 3906-M-2011 for Violation of Article 267 of the Revised Penal Code as amended by RA7659.
joint-decision-dated-sept-172018-vs-palparan-2-others_compressedTogether with his co-accused, Lt. Col. Felipe Anotado, Jr. and Staff Sgt. Edgardo Osorio, he was sentenced to reclusion perpetua, or 20 years and one day to 40 years imprisonment, and were ordered to pay P100,000 for civil indemnity and P200,000 for moral damages for each count.
The accused in these cases for kidnapping and serious illegal detention are officers in active military service at the commission of the crime. Abducting and taking away is neither an official function nor a pursuit of authority vested in them.
The charges were substantiated by witnesses Raymond Manalo and Wilfredo Ramos Jr. Manalo in his affidavit said he too was detained by the accused and saw Cadapan and Empeno manhandled in a military safe house. Ramos identified Osorio as one of the men who took the two UP students from their house on June 26, 2006.
WHY IT MATTERS?
The interview generated 102,326 views and 3,500 likes in YouTube.
Olalia, who served as private prosecutor of the case, questioned the privileges given to Palparan in the New Bilibid Prison. The group said that it is a mockery of the justice and penal system.
Families of the missing students called the interview a “travesty of justice” and “a cheap desperate attempt” to vindicate criminals and rights violators since the court has convicted him.
The Department of Justice has ordered an investigation on how the interview took place as they had not received any request to conduct such interview.
Badoy is also facing charges from the Office of the Ombudsman for her frequent red-tagging of personalities from progressive groups and civil society organizations, and on Vice President Leni Robredo. (davaotoday.com)
Davao Today is part of #FactsFirstPH which brings together various sectors that are committed to promoting truth in the public space, and exacting accountability on those who harm it with lies. For those interested to join the initiative, email info@factsfirst.ph.
