DAVAO CITY – Mothers of missing students of the University of the Philippines, Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan, asked when will retired Army general Jovito Palparan be convicted, a year after he was arrested.
On July 24, the Office of the Office of the Ombudsman found probable cause to indict Palparan for the kidnapping and serious illegal detention of the Manalo brothers, Raymond and Reynaldo, who accused the general of their arrest and detention from February 2006 to August 2007.
The Manalo brothers stood witness to the abduction and torture of Karen and Sherlyn before the courts, leading to the filing of charges against Palparan in 2011.
In a statement on Wednesday, mothers Concepcion Empeño and Erlinda Cadapan said they have yet to see real progress on the charges against the military men.
“Nakasisiguro ba tayo na nakakulong talaga siya? Ang ganda na ulit ng itsura niya dahil sa tinatanggap niyang VIP treatment (Are we even sure he is detained? He looks good now because of the VIP treatment he receives),” said Concepcion Empeño of Palparan, who remains at Fort Bonifacio, a military camp after the courts allowed his transfer from Bulacan Provincial Jail on alleged threats to his life.
For Erlinda Cadapan’s part, she told the Aquino government to stop acting like a caregiver to Palparan.
“It’s now a year and he is enjoying his life in a military camp. Our daughters have been kept incommunicado from their parents, sisters, brothers, relatives and friends for nine long years. Walang araw na hindi kami nag-alala sa kanilang kalusugan at kalagayan (There is not a single day that we did not worry about their health and situation),” said Cadapan.
Judge Teodora Gonzales of Malolos RTC Branch 14 recently inhibited from the case, after the lawyer of one of the suspects, Staff Sgt. Edgardo Osorio, accused the judge of partiality to the case.
“She might have been threatened or harassed, we wouldn’t know. We are really dismayed that she leaves the case after four years. This just makes the wheels of justice roll slower,” said Empeño.
The next hearing for the case against Palparan will be heard on August 17. “We shall continue to call that they surface and return our daughters to us,” Cadapan said. (davaotoday.com)
