On the statement made by Ret. Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan through lawyer Atty. Jesus Santos – whose authority to represent the retired general is suspect – that the filing of the cases against him was done illegally, the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), private prosecutor of the Cadapan and Empeno families, through its Secretary General Atty. Edre Olalia said:

“General Palparan has the gall and temerity to claim that the charges against him were done illegally. That is farthest from the truth. He is turning things upside down.

Come out of your putrid sewage hole and see the light. Join your avid fan former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in jail. Stop putting your attorneys on the spot to take the fall for you even as they trifle with the emotions of the suffering mothers by recklessly springing bare claims their young and abused daughters are still alive.”#

Reference: Atty. Edre U. Olalia, NUPL Secretary General, 09175113373

The Haldane Society supports the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers’ actions against Maj Gen Jovito Palparan.

The arrest warrant against Gen. Palparan and three other military personnel was issued by the Malolos Regional Trial Court on December 19, 2011. After a month-long manhunt by government law enforcement agencies and after a P1-million bounty has been put up for his capture, the actual whereabouts of the retired general are yet to be known. Palparan’s co-accused and sidekick M/Sgt. Rizal Hilario is also still at large.

“The victims and families have been waiting for justice for the longest time. There are prevalent doubts from the victims and their families whether the Pnoy administration itself has in fact made any serious, systematic and concrete effort to initiate the effective and genuine investigation and prosecution of human rights violators of the past and the present. We hope several other victims will, on their own, persist to throw the book at Gen. Palparan and his kind for the most horrific rights violations,” said Liz Davies, Chair of the Haldane Society.

The NUPL is the private prosecutor in the case of Kidnapping and Serious Illegal Detention against Gen. Palparan and his co-accused , involving the disappearance of UP students Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan. The NUPL is also the counsel of human rights victims Raymond Manalo, Oscar Leuterio, Melissa Roxas, Ericson Acosta, and the Morong 43 health workers, among others.

Liz Davies (sgd.)
Chair Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers
Contact: lizdavies@riseup.net
5 February 2012

The Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers (UK), based in London, was founded in 1930. It is an organisation which provides a forum for the discussion and analysis of law and the legal system both nationally and internationally, from a socialist perspective. It is independent of any political party. Its membership consists of individuals who are lawyers, academics or students and legal workers, and it also has trade union and labour affiliates.

Progress lawyers network of Belgium urges the Philippine government to release all political prisoners and to institute criminal and administrative cases against major human rights violators life former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and fugitive retired General Jovito Palparan.

For many years PROGRESS Lawyers Network has been monitoring the human rights situation in the Philippines, and we have been taking firm position against the extrajudicial killings, disappearances, torture and other forms of human rights violations under the previous administration.

As a member of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) we were present at the COLAP V Conference in Manila in 2010. The Manila Declaration stated: “The conference stressed the need to end impunity for perpetrators of human rights violations and supports efforts to insure that those governments and individuals responsible are held accountable.”

The newly elected President Aquino has not made any concrete step to do address the impunity even after 19 months in office. Only recently his administration has filed cases for electoral sabotage, plunder and graft and corruption against the former President Arroyo which resulted to her arrest and detention.

But the present government has not shown any serious step to make her former administration liable for human rights violations like extrajudicial killings, disappearances and torture. On the contrary, the same situation seems to continue.

The victims, their relatives, human rights defenders organizations and their lawyers have initiated cases in courts, at great risks and with many difficulties, on their own, with no help from the government.

President Aquino had appointed the previous chair of the Commission on Human Rights, Mrs. Leila de Lima, to be his Secretary of Justice. With all her expertise and her criticism against the human rights policy of the Arroyo administration, we had expected her to prosecute the main human rights violators. What is the Aquino administration waiting for?

While there is still impunity for former President Arroyo and retired General Palparan, 356 political prisoners are still detained. Against them, cases can be brought up quickly, charges can be false or improper, they can be arrested quickly and often illegally, even if they have not been heard properly and their case is only based on declarations of unidentified witnesses or confessions after being tortured. They are often incarcerated for years without a fair trial, because of their political beliefs.

We had expected more from President Aquino, whose father was a political prisoner himself.

PROGRESS Lawyers Network of Belgium calls for:

-the release of all political prisoners in the Philippines through a general, unconditional, and omnibus amnesty; and

-prompt action, investigation and resolution of administrative, civil, criminal cases against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her top civilian, military and police officials led by retired Major General Palparan Jovito Palparan Jr. for serious human rights violations

-immediate capture and arrest of Gen. Palparan and bring him to court for trial for the disappearance of university students Cadapan and Empeno, among others.

Brussels and Antwerp, Belgium

For PROGRESS LAWYERS NETWORK

Jo DEREYMAEKER (sgd.)

Lies MICHIELSEN (sgd.)

The International Association of People’s Lawyers (IAPL), an organization of human rights lawyers committed to the protection and advancement of the basic rights of peoples throughout the world, calls for the release of all political prisoners in the Philippines and the prosecution of human rights violators.

IAPL had high hopes at the inauguration of the newly elected President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino II: he could be the one to make an end to the extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and torture under the Arroyo administration. He could stop the impunity.

19 months later, IAPL sees no major change in politics: human rights violations continue to this day. The perpetrators have practically not been effectively investigated, charged and tried, let alone punished.

Yes, former President Arroyo was recently arrested for cases filed against her for electoral sabotage, plunder and graft and corruption. But the present government has not shown any concrete and firm step to make her former administration liable for human rights violations.

On the contrary, it is the victims, their relatives, human rights defenders organizations and their lawyers that have initiated and are doggedly pursuing cases in courts, at great risk and difficulty… with no help from the government other than its general rhetoric.

There are still 356 political prisoners in the Philippines and quite a number of them were illegally arrested through the improvident substitution of generic John or Jane Does without hearing.

The Aquino government should show its respect for human rights by taking concrete actions, instead of just speaking about it.

A first and necessary step is to free the political prisoners, to free the people detained and imprisoned for fighting against oppression and to struggling for fundamental changes, against a corrupt regime.

Impunity for human rights violators and punishment of those who have different political beliefs, that’s called plain injustice.

IAPL urges the Philippine government to
- release all political prisoners in the Philippines, immediately and unconditionally;
- take prompt action, to investigate and resolve administrative, civil and criminal cases against former President Gloria Arroyo and her top civilian, military and police officials led by retired Major General Jovito Palparan Jr. for serious human rights violations
- leave no stone unturned in capturing and arresting Gen. Palparan and answer for his many crimes including the disappearance, torture and rape of 2 university students

3 February 2012
Utrecht, Netherlands

Raf Jespers (sgd.)
IAPL Secretary General

The statement issued by the New York-based international human rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) that some military personnel and business owners are protecting retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan validates one of the lingering apprehensions of the victims’ families and human rights defenders as well as the general public at large.

“If true, then Palparan’s handlers and coddlers will have to be sued as shameless accessories,” Atty. Edre Olalia, Secretary General of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), said in response to the HRW statement. “They are not only condoning the heinous and beastly crimes he and his roving band are being charged with, but are perpetuating impunity,” Atty. Olalia added.

The arrest warrant against Gen. Palparan and three other military personnel was issued by the Malolos Regional Trial Court on December 19, 2011. After a month of manhunt by government law enforcement agencies and after a P1-million bounty has been put up for his capture, the actual whereabouts of the retired general are yet to be known. Palparan’s co-accused and sidekick M/Sgt. Rizal Hilario is also still at large.

“PNoy must pay more attention and give priority to the affairs of the state. The victims and families have been waiting for justice for the longest time. He should give a clearer, stronger and firmer directive as the supposed Commander-in-Chief to locate, arrest and hale Palparan to court,” Atty. Olalia said.

“There are prevalent doubts from the victims and their families whether the Pnoy administration itself has in fact made any serious, systematic and concrete effort to initiate the effective and genuine investigation and prosecution of human rights violators of the past and the present. Meanwhile, several other victims will, on their own, persist to throw the book at Gen. Palparan and his kind for the most horrific rights violations,” Atty. Olalia added.

“The statement of Human Rights Watch forebodes the renewed alarm, concern and even frustration of international groups and the international community about the continuing impunity for rights violations in the country,” he pointed out.

The NUPL is the private prosecutor in the case of Kidnapping and Serious Illegal Detention against Gen. Palparan and his co-accused, involving the disappearance of UP students Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan. The NUPL is also the counsel of human rights victims Raymond Manalo, Oscar Leuterio, Melissa Roxas, Ericson Acosta, and the Morong 43 health workers, among others. #

Reference: Atty. Edre U. Olalia, NUPL Secretary General, 09175113373

President Benigno S. Aquino, III
Malacañang Palace
J.P. Laurel St.
San Miguel
Manila, NCR
1005 Philippines
Facsimile: +632 735 8005

Re: Retired Major General Jovito Palparan and the Culture of Impunity

Dear President Aquino,

It has come to our attention that the notorious Armed Forces of the Philippines Retired Major General Jovito Palparan, known as “The Butcher,” has evaded capture since an arrest warrant was issued for him by the Malolos Regional Trial Court in the Philippines on December 19, 2011. During Palparan’s time as a division commander, his troops were implicated in grave abuses constituting violations of international humanitarian law, including violations of international humanitarian law constituting violations of international humanitarian law, including extrajudicial killings, torture, and enforced disappearances.

Palparan was operating under the counter-insurgency program, Oplan Bantay Laya, which targets perceived “enemies of the state” whether they are combatants, activists of the legal democratic movement, journalist, lawyers, judges or church members. Palparan publicly admitted to targeting groups and individuals he considered to be communist fronts or Communist Party supporters. A favourite tactic of his has been to label civil society groups as fronts for communist insurgents. In a 2006 interview, Palparan said that the deaths of activists are “small sacrifices” which must be made to win the anti-insurgency campaign.

Palparan and three others are accused of kidnapping and detaining activists Shelrlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño in 2006. In May 2011, their families filed a suit and only then did the government start the process of prosecution against these men.

The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) and other groups, particularly including human rights activists within the Philippines and our colleagues with the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, have been calling for an end to the culture of impunity in the Philippines for many years. That culture has seen the country plagued by rampant extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances targeting left wing political parties, human rights activists, lawyers and judges, journalists and other civilians since 2001. In September 2010, more than 250 attorneys from 23 countries, including NLG representatives, gathered in Manila, to attend the fifth Conference of Lawyers in the Asia Pacific (COLAP V), the Manila declaration was signed and stated in part: “The conference stressed the need to end impunity for perpetrators of human rights violations and support efforts to insure that those governments and individuals responsible are held accountable.”

Unfortunately, it seems your administration has utterly failed to improve the human rights situation in the country, except for the singular instance where it was compelled to belatedly release the Morong 43 health workers. Extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and torture continue, while the perpetrators continue to escape any punishment.

According to a Human Rights Watch statement, civilian officials have expressed the belief that some military personnel and business owners are protecting Palparan. The NLG joins with many other defenders of human rights, both in the Philippines and around the world, in calling on you to order the armed forces to cooperate with civilian authorities in arresting Palparan and others charged with enforced disappearances of the two acitivists in 2006 and then insure that your orders are followed. Palparan must be immediately arrested and prosecuted.

The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers has undertaken historic and unprecedented cases against top military and police officials of the previous administration of President Arroyo for their high-profile and heinous human rights violations. The NLG recognizes the dangers the lawyers handling these cases are facing and supports them in their monumental efforts. We remind you that the international community is watching closely and demand that prosecution and punishment replace inaction. It is past the time for you to end the culture of impunity in the Philippines and place your administration on the right side of history.

Sincerely

David Gespass (sgd.)
President

cc: Philippines Justice Department
Philippine National Police
Department of Local Government and Interior
Department of Local Government and Interior
National Bureau of Investigation
National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers

THE NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD of the US is a national non-profit legal and political organization comprised of lawyers, legal workers, law students, and jailhouse lawyers all over the United States, now celebrating 75 years since the Guild’s founding. We represent progressive political movements, using the law to protect human rights above property interests and to attain social justice.

In today’s hearing in the case of the disappearance of UP students Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan, Atty. Narzal Mallares, one of Palparan’s lawyers, revealed in open court that Ret. Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan has been communicating with him every now and then.

“Palparan’s lawyer is risking charges of coddling a fugitive and for obstruction of justice by harbouring and not disclosing his whereabouts even if he claims that he has contact with him,” said Atty. Edre Olalia, one of the Private Prosecutors from the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) handling the case, echoing the manifestation of the Public Prosecutors from the Department of Justice (DoJ).

In another breath, with his authority to represent Palparan questioned by the prosecutors as not evidenced by his client’s conformity, Palparan’s purported co-counsel, Atty. Jesus Santos, claimed that it was Palparan’s family and relatives who spoke with him to get him to represent the fugitive general.

And just when the judge was about to adjourn the hearing and to the surprise and chagrin of the prosecutors, Atty. Santos gratuitously claimed in open court and in the presence of Erlinda Cadapan, the mother of one of the victims Sherlyn, that he was informed by “some sources” that the two UP students were still alive. He concluded that, with his disclosure, there is no basis for the charges against Palparan.

But Atty. Santos refused to give any details and other information on this “revelation” even after the private prosecutors were coaxing him to do so.

“The bare and belated allegation of his purported co-counsel that the victims are still alive raised mixed feelings, at the very least,” said Atty. Olalia. “If false, it is an insensitive, cruel and irresponsible claim designed to confuse and raise false hopes. It could be a cheap shot to incorrectly undermine the charges. But if true, which is good, it raises even more questions though,” Atty. Olalia added.

The charges against Maj. Gen. Palparan and three other military personnel are Kidnapping and Serious Illegal Detention. “The revelation of Atty. Santos will not have any legal effect to the charges already filed in court to bring the perpetrators to justice,” Atty. Olalia maintained. “Produce the students!,” he demanded. #

Reference: Atty. Edre U. Olalia, NUPL Secretary General, 09175113373

On the reported negotiations between authorities of the United States (US) and the Philippines seeking to strike a deal for increased US military presence in the country, the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) said:

“The NUPL, as a nationwide association of lawyers united to stand for human rights and the assertion of the right to self-determination and national sovereignty, raises its continuing objection over the proposed even bigger US military role in the country.

While we were intently watching and many of our people were distracted by the impeachment show, our top officials were selling us down the river. We have not grown up as a nation and we shamelessly grovel for junk and gloat a master-lapdog relationship that is unhealthy, archaic and onerous. This plan only validates the virtual and unjustified US military bully presence in blatant violation of our Constitution and International Laws.”

Reference: Atty. Edre U. Olalia, NUPL Secretary General, 09175113373

As human rights advocates and as officers of the court, we support this constitutionally-mandated impeachment process to hold any one accountable, including those who are charged with frustrating efforts at accountability.

The impeachment process is a device to make high public officials, including members of the Supreme Court, when warranted, accountable for their actions. It serves as a deterrent to grave abuse of authority and betrayal of public trust. It operates on and is meant to preserve and strengthen the principle of checks and balances. Thus, while it is the Chief Justice on the dock, the independence, credibility and integrity of our institutions will all be put to the test in this trial.

But a critical stance must be taken in examining the proceedings. It will not serve its purpose if the result would be a judiciary that is subservient to the dictates of the other branches of government.

Any criticism of the Court, or any of its members, must be principled and based on sufficient legal arguments and just grounds. The Court is not immaculately infallible and had its own share of decisions that invited vigorous exceptions or protests from various quarters. But such dissent must not undermine the independence of the judiciary as an institution and should present valid reasons whether or not there should be trust and confidence in the equal and equitable dispensation of justice.

The Pnoy administration has overtly and covertly shepherded this impeachment. Yet the impeachment complaint contains on its face a number of serious allegations and grounds that need to be tried objectively and resolved on their merits. It is now incumbent on the House prosecutors to prove any of these grounds convincingly and address the criticism that the complaint was passed with inordinate dispatch and even undue haste for reasons other than that of public interest.

The Senate sitting as an impeachment body is tasked to decide with judiciousness, unbridled by any other consideration. Though ultimately more a political exercise in a legal forum to be decided by politicians, the process must not be reduced to a simple numbers game and must be fair and credible. The people must engage and must be involved.

The impeachment should also not be used to cover up the incompetence and failure of the PNoy administration to concretely address the gut issues of the people, including their unmet basic social and economic needs and the disproportionate priority to largely unheeded demands for justice and accountability for grievous human rights violations. The process can in fact result and help in no small way in holding the GMA administration itself fully accountable.

The impeachment against the Chief Justice will certainly set a precedent. Whether it will be a good or bad one will depend on how it will be handled and decided upon and how credible the process is seen by the public. It may make for a better judicial institution by serving as a springboard for reforms in the administration of justice. Or it may bamboozle the courts and undermine the system of supposed checks and balances and be the opening to monopoly of power.

So-called as the “last bastion of democracy,” the Supreme Court, or any of its members, must be beholden to no one- past or present – and its partiality should be in favour only of the people’s rights and interests. It must have the moral authority to inspire trust, confidence and belief.

For us and especially our clients who have less in life and even in law, one thing is of transcendental importance amidst all these — whether our formal democratic institutions can really make our public officials or any of their perceived proxies truly accountable for their actions. Whatever the outcome of this crucial exercise, the basic political and civil rights and the social and economic demands and needs of the people remain and must be effectively addressed by our institutions. #

Reference: Atty. Edre U. Olalia, NUPL Secretary General, 09175113373

On the reported increase of the reward money for any information leading to the arrest of fugitive Ret. Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) panel of private prosecutors in the case of the disappearance of UP students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno said:

“We support it. In fact, we thought the original bounty may not have been commensurate an incentive to others given the seriousness of the charges , the import of the case to pursue accountability for human rights violations, his network of protection and connections, his unmatched notoriety for lack of remorse, and his evident dogged incorrigibility to evade facing the music.

We challenge the government to step up even more the manhunt and leave no stone unturned to hale him before the bar of justice. He cannot possibly hide and run ‘til kingdom come.”

Reference: Atty. Edre U. Olalia, NUPL Secretary General, 09175113373; Atty. Ephraim B. Cortez, NUPL Assistant Secretary General for Legal Services; Atty. Julian F. Oliva; Atty. Jobert Pahilga and Atty. Cristina Yambot