"It is confirmed. It is now out in public who is protecting whom. The Department of Justice’s refusal to support the demand of the mothers of Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno to bring Gen. Jovito Palaparan to a civilian detention facility affirms that Malacanang and the Justice Department are protectors and coddlers of The Butcher. Both are more concerned with Palparan’s freedom aka safety from so-called threats, simply dismissing the efforts of Sherlyn and Karen’s mothers to seek justice for the continued disappearance of their daughters," said Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay.
"It is confirmed. It is now out in public who is protecting whom. The Department of Justice’s refusal to support the demand of the mothers of Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno to bring Gen. Jovito Palaparan to a civilian detention facility affirms that Malacanang and the Justice Department are protectors and coddlers of The Butcher. Both are more concerned with Palparan’s freedom aka safety from so-called threats, simply dismissing the efforts of Sherlyn and Karen’s mothers to seek justice for the continued disappearance of their daughters," said Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay.
In September, Cadapan-Empeno’s private prosecutors from the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers filed a motion to bring back Palparan to the jail after "he was returned home to his headquarters at the Fort Bonifacio. Judge Teodora Gonzalez of the Malolos RTC Branch 14 said she will only act on the NUPL motion upon DOJ prosecutors’ concurrence. "The DOJ’s non-conformity with the NUPL’s motion has given Palparan’s lawyers a convenient argument in opposing the motion to put Palaparan in jail," Palabay said.
On October 14, Usec. Francisco Baraan, representing DOJ, faced representatives of Karapatan, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, church groups, and Mrs. Erlinda Cadapan in a dialogue. Palabay said Baraan gave a "clear, categorical, and unequivocal commitment that he will instruct the public prosecutors to sign the conforme."
However, Palabay said the act simply showed the DOJ’s duplicity in handling the case of Palparan, "playing with the emotions of the mothers." The DOJ she said has now become accountable to the public for the freedom that Palparan continues to enjoy despite his many victims of human rights violations. ###