Reward for Palparan's arrest increased to P1 M

Reward for Palparan's arrest increased to P1 M 
By Edu Punay, The Philippine Star, January 06, 2012

MANILA, Philippines - To boost the manhunt for retired Army Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, the government has doubled the cash reward from P500,000 to P1 million for information that would lead to his arrest.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima announced yesterday that she and Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo have decided to increase the reward money as a complementary move to the ongoing manhunt for Palparan.

“Because we are getting good leads, we decided to increase (the reward). We are increasing the reward money for any information that would lead to the arrest of retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan,” she told reporters.

“We want this to be over and done with the soonest,” she stressed.

De Lima admitted that authorities were concerned with the fugitive retired general’s continued hiding.

“If this will continue, chances of arresting him become slimmer and he could even be able to flee,” she pointed out.

De Lima had earlier claimed that Palparan already sent surrender feelers to the National Bureau of Investigation.

She also claimed that she received death threats that could possibly have come from the fugitive retired general.

Read complete article @ www.philstar.com

'Surrender or be hunted down like a rat' - ex-military rebel to Palparan

'Surrender or be hunted down like a rat' - ex-military rebel to Palparan
04-Jan-12,  Eric B. Apolonio, InterAksyon.com

MANILA, Philippines - “Surrender or be hunted down like a rat; face the music or be hunted down like … vermin."

This was the message of former military rebel Danilo Lim to fugitive retired general Jovito Palparan, who is being hunted for his alleged role in the abduction and disappearance of two University of the Philippines students in 2006.

Palparan went into hiding after immigration agents foiled his attempt to leave the country last month. A warrant for his arrest has since been issued by a Bulacan trial court where he and three others are charged with the kidnapping and illegal detention of Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno.

Human rights groups have declared a “people’s manhunt” for Palparan, who they have dubbed “The Butcher” for the string of extrajudicial killings, disappearances and other human rights violations committed in the areas where he was assigned as a military commander.

Lim, now deputy commissioner for intelligence of the Bureau of Customs, is a former commander of the elite Army Scout Rangers and participated in several failed coup attempts against former Presidents Corazon Aquino and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. He was granted amnesty by President Benigno Aquino III after spending four years in detention.

"History is not kind to people who were responsible for the death of many innocent lives. I hope Palparan has read enough history books to know the common fate suffered by dictators and butchers. I hope he surrenders soon or face the people's wrath," Lim said.

Read more @ interaksyon.com

Palparan sightings reported, says de Lima

Poster from KARAPATAN

Palparan sightings reported, says de Lima
By Ina Reformina, ABS-CBN News
January 02, 2012

MANILA, Philippines - There have been sightings of retired Army Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan who faces charges for the disappearance of University of the Philippines(UP) student activists Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno in June 2006, bared Justice Secretary Leila De Lima.

The justice chief, however, refused to give details to the media so as not to jeopardize ongoing manhunt operations against Palparan and his trusted aide and co-accused, M/Sgt. Rizal Hilario.

"May info(information) na nire-relay sa amin, nire-relay sa akin, so what I do [is] ask the NBI(National Bureau of Investigation) to validate the info," De Lima said.

Read full article @ www.abs-cbnnews.com

EDITORIAL - Manhunt for Palparan

EDITORIAL - Manhunt for Palparan
(The Philippine Star) Updated December 29, 2011

How hard is it to find a prominent fugitive in this country? Hard enough for the government to dangle a reward of P500,000 for information leading to the capture of retired Army Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan. The man who reinvented himself as a party-list representative upon his retirement from the military has disappeared since his arrest was ordered by the Bulacan Regional Trial Court shortly before Christmas Day.

Palparan is wanted in connection with the disappearance of University of the Philippines student activists Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño in 2006. The two, who remain missing, were reportedly tortured and detained at an Army camp in Central Luzon when Palparan was the Army’s commander in the area. Palparan has denied involvement in the disappearance of the students.

The last time Palparan was seen, according to the National Bureau of Investigation, he was in the company of heavily armed men. Palparan owns a security agency. He had tried to fly to Singapore on Dec. 19 through the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Pampanga, shortly after the Department of Justice ordered his indictment for kidnapping and serious illegal detention. After being barred from leaving, he disappeared.

Read more @ www.philstar.com

Mothers of missing U.P. students file complaint-vs-Palparan. Interaksyon.com

http://hronlineph.wordpress.com/2011/05/04/mothers-of-missing-up-students-file-complaint-vs-palparan-interaksyon-com/

Photo from InterAksyon.com

MANILA, Philipines – (UPDATE) The mothers of missing University of the Philippines students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño filed a complaint before the Department of Justice on Wednesday against retired Major General Jovito Palparan, several military personnel and a number of John and Jane Does for violations of the Anti-Rape Law, Revised Penal Code, the rights of arrested and detained persons, and the international covenant against torture.

(To read the full complaint, click here)

Erlinda Cadapan and Concepcion Empeño, accompanied by their lawyer, Edre Olalia of the National Union of People’s Lawyers, and representatives of human rights groups met with Justice Secretary Leila de Lima before formally filing their complaint.