“The convicted butcher Jovito Palparan Jr. is a charlatan. He and Mocha Uson together are disreputable – the former a convicted criminal and the latter an immaterial fanatic who wants to make a comeback into her master’s good graces. The result of that interview is an explosion of hogwash that is easily disputed by evidence already presented in courts. Ang kapal ng mukha ni Palparan na sabihing turo-turo ang paratang sa kanya. His victims are still missing because of his false claims.
“The convicted butcher Jovito Palparan Jr. is a charlatan. He and Mocha Uson together are disreputable – the former a convicted criminal and the latter an immaterial fanatic who wants to make a comeback into her master’s good graces. The result of that interview is an explosion of hogwash that is easily disputed by evidence already presented in courts. Ang kapal ng mukha ni Palparan na sabihing turo-turo ang paratang sa kanya. His victims are still missing because of his false claims. Karen and Sherlyn were not given the benefit of due process, while he is here whining and absurdly painting himself as the victim,” Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay strongly commented.
Karapatan dismissed all of Palparan’s “whining” during a video interview with Mocha Uson: “Of course, Palparan omitted so many things. He omitted, for example, that he went into hiding and was a wanted fugitive for four years – from 2011 to 2014. However, before we break down and disprove Palparan’s continued lies, we reiterate that proper court procedures were violated in the conduct of this interview, and the counsel of the victims was not given notice. Further, we question Mocha Uson’s motives for her new-found devotion to Palparan’s freedom. In any case, the entire charade was in bad taste,” Palabay added.
The Karapatan official addressed many of the allegations made by Palparan in his 30-minute interview. “Though we highly doubt that his so-called “supporters” finished or even watched the entire interview, let alone have the slightest knowledge of the case, it is nonetheless imperative that Palparan’s malicious claims do not remain uncontested,” she added.
Palabay cited the following details on Raymond Manalo and Palparan’s victims, Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan:
1. Contrary to claims by Palparan that the main witness, Raymond Manalo, was inconsistent, this is but a malicious attempt to discredit the latter. Manalo, from his affidavit issued in September 2008, already mentioned that he met Palparan face to face. According to the said affidavit, Palparan even introduced himself. The convicted criminal said the brothers’ lives will be spared and both will be allowed to go home, so long as they instruct their parents not to cooperate with Karapatan and all human rights organizations. Manalo has been consistent throughout and Palparan’s ramblings are just that – ramblings;
2. Brothers Raymond and Reynaldo Manalo were abducted in February 2006, under suspicion that they were members of the NPA. All these, were based on hearsay. The two were taken to various military camps, put in chains, and heavily tortured. Raymond met Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño while in captivity. The Manalos escaped in August 2007 and executed their respective affidavits in 2008;
3. After escaping their military abductors, a writ of amparo was granted by the Court of Appeals to the Manalo brothers in 2007. This was reaffirmed by the Supreme Court in October 2008. The SC’s decision to grant the amparo petition was unanimously granted, penned by then Chief Justice Renato Puno. Palparan cannot pathetically attack the integrity of the witnesses when the courts – from the local courts to the Supreme Court – have repeatedly confirmed the credibility of the Manalo brothers and other witnesses. They are not planted witnesses as Uson interjects, and even Palparan debunks her, referring to Manalo as someone “who must have suffered something;”
4. There is plenty of evidence that were given credence by the court, which resulted to Palparan’s conviction. Until now, his victims remain missing. As of Uson’s effort to destroy the case’s credibility by citing the role of Sen. Leila de Lima, also former Commission of Human Rights chairperson, in the investigations on rights violations committed by Palparan under the Arroyo administration, this is again immaterial. The linking of Juliet de Lima and Leila de Lima is a bit of a stretch, and frankly just lacks any intellect. In any case, Uson is invited to map the subjects’ family tree until she tires herself out.
5. What happened to Karen and Sherlyn is no laughing matter. Hindi ito tsismis, but the lives of two women who were raped, tortured, and forcibly disappeared.
“Disinformation is the weapon of the criminals and revisionists who want to whitewash the violations they perpetrated. Aided by desperate parasites who want to remain relevant, the recent interview of Palparan by Mocha Uson is a ludicrous example of trial by social media, even as the judgment has already been passed by the courts. Palparan has the audacity to claim that his conviction was borne out of “turo-turo,” when it his unfounded claims that led to the killings and disappearances of Filipinos. Just as we have campaigned to keep the rapist Antonio Sanchez in jail, so should we vehemently oppose any and all attempts by Palparan to wriggle out of jail,” Palabay ended.