Arrest Palparan & His Commander-in-Chief -- NYCHRP

With the recent ruling of the Supreme Court officially linking the abduction and torture of brothers Raymond and Reynaldo Manalo of Bulacan to retired Army General Jovito Palparan, local rights group New York Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (NYCHRP) challenged the Supreme Court (SC) to take the landmark verdict to the next level and pursue justice by "arresting Palparan and his commander-in-chief."
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"We want the complete pursuit of justice. With this SC ruling, there is now basis to arrest Jovito Palparan for the capture and torture of the Manalo brothers, who were detained for 18 months, heavily tortured, and were lucky enough to escape," stated NYCHRP member Gary Labao, also originally from Bulacan.

Abducted and accused of being members of the New People’s Army (NPA), both Manalo brothers testified to witnessing the torture of others while in detention, including that of Manuel Merino, a detainee who was allegedly set on fire by the soldier captors, as well as run-ins in the military camp with Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan, still-missing students from the University of the Philippines.

Upon escape, the brothers Manolo sought protection from government harassment by filing for a writ of amparo, which the high court would grant. A fact-finding initiative from the Court of Appeals produced hard evidence that established factual linkage of "Palparan's participation in the brothers' abduction", as well as that of volunteers from the "Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Units" or CAFGU's.

"CAFGU's are basically death squads," Labao stated. "It is now confirmed that the Philippine military is working in tandem with death squads in its abduction and torture operations in the provinces."

SC Chief Justice Reynato Puno upheld and supported the findings by the appellate court.

On the side of the AFP, testimonies offered by Lt. Col. Ruben Jimenez of the 7th Infantry Division, were categorically dismissed as "superficial" while attempts to debunk the Manalo brothers' claims by Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and AFP Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon were also rejected by the high court.

"While we are very pleased with SC Justice Reynato Puno's ruling on the side of the Manalo brothers, we believe action must be taken at once. Palparan and his superiors, particularly his commander-in-chief in Malacanang should be arrested for their continued and proven crimes against the people," Labao ended.

Members of NYCHRP include former victims of illegal arrest and torture in the Philippines as well as family members of abductees.