Former President GMA Cannot be Detached from the Butcher

THE MOSTEST HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATOR. Retired military officer of top rank Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan has gone missing after the court ruled and the DOJ acted on the possible culpability of him and several other military officers in the case of missing UP students, Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan, who have not been found since their disappearance years ago. The trail of the two young girl-students of UP, in fact has been established by human rights defenders especially by Karapatan and that there are witnesses to this effect.

The killing of lay PIC leader, Benjamin Bayles has likewise been established by friends and colleagues and human rights groups in Negros Occidental and a case has already been heard in courts. We have always contended that no matter that a person is an activist or human rights defender, he is to be considered a civilian and not a combatant. But then even combatants who are hors d’ combat or who can no longer fight, once wounded is considered one who must be treated. He is not to be shot or any harm inflicted against him.

FROM NEGROS. We had come across a periodical or some readings saying the Cadapans come from Valladolid town in Southern Negros. The two girls as UP students were assigned to do research work when men of Palparan’s unit, chanced upon them and abducted them. They were possibly sexually and physically abused with Palparan personally making the orders or doing nothing about it.

It was during a period when violations of people’s right by then former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was rife. Former President PGMA have this thing for activists, human rights defenders and members of cause-oriented groups during the period she ruled. She made it appear that she had nothing to do with it. But 1,200 dead including those abducted and disappeared prodded the United Nations Ambassador Philip Halston to conduct a probe of the grave human rights abuses committed by the regime. It is possible that former PGMA became more incensed because, apart from other groups, cause-oriented organizations of the national democratic movement called for her removal from power. She, in fact, instituted measures to ensure death and destruction would befall them.

PRAISED PALPARAN. We remember during one of her State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) when she espied Palparan among the crowd and she praised him profusely, indicating that she had her approval.

The man committed so many human rights violations where he was assigned in Mindoro, Samar, and Central Luzon but former PGMA never did chide him or ordered him to desist from doing so, committing abuses. From news reports we also gleaned that Palparan was not only solely responsible for the commission of human rights violations but those in the civil government and superiors in the military encouraged him to do his thing. Among them are included now retired AFP Chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Norberto Gonzales, DOJ Chief Raul Gonzalez, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita and a few others whose names escape us at the moment. Now Chief Justice Renato Corona never did bat for observance of human rights by the government and by military troops.*