MALOLOS, Bulacan: The Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Bulacan on Monday found retired Army Major General Jovito Palparan Jr. guilty of kidnapping and serious illegal detention in connection with the disappearance of two University of the Philippines (UP) students in 2006.

The two UP student activists, Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan, were abducted on June 26, 2006 in Hagonoy, Bulacan. They remain missing.

In the 31-page decision by Judge Alexander Tamayo of RTC Branch 15 in Malolos, Palparan’s co-accused Lt. Col. Felipe Anotado Jr. and Staff Sgt. Edgardo Osorio, were found guilty of the same charges.

Another co-accused, Master Sgt. Rizal Hilario, who was at large, was not included in the decision but was ordered arrested.

The victims’ parents, Linda Cadapan and Concepcion Empeño, were satisfied with the verdict that came almost seven years after charges were filed in December 2011, and 12 years after the two UP students were abducted.

”We are only two of the many families who are happy with the court’s decision to convict Palparan. We are thankful that the courts recognized the truth in the testimonies of our witnesses, who have likewise suffered the same fate as our daughters,” said Concepcion Empeño.

Linda Cadapan said the ruling was a partial victory. She said: "All victims and relatives from Southern Tagalog to Eastern Visayas, to Central Luzon where our daughters were abducted and disappeared, share this victory.

However, this remains partial because the next question has always been ‘where are our children?’”

Palparan, who became a congressman representing an anti-communist party-list group in 2009 or two years after retiring from the military, went in hiding in 2011 but was arrested after three years on the run.

The Karapatan human rights groups claimed Palparan had a total of 206 victims of enforced disappearances as head of various military units in Southern Luzon and the Visayas, such as the Philiappine Army’s 7th and 8th Infantry Divisions, during the Arroyo administration.

The three accused were sentenced to reclusion perpetua or 20 to 40 years imprisonment, and were ordered to pay P100,000 in civil indemnity and P200,000 in moral damages.

Tamayo ordered the three committed to the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa.

Palparan to appeal

Palparan — nicknamed "Berdugo” or "The Butcher” by his left-leaning critics for his pursuit of communist rebels and activists — told reporters he would appeal the decision.

"How could I be guilty when there was only one witness, and that witness appeared after nine years?” he told reporters.

After the reading of decision, Palparan shouted and cursed at Tamayo, accusing the Bulacan judge of receiving bribe money in exchange for favorable decisions and risking contempt of court.

"It is public knowledge here in Bulacan, rumors I’ve heard, that he is receiving money,” Palparan said.

Palparan and the two other army men were tagged by brothers Raymond and Reynaldo Manalo as responsible for the abduction of Cadapan and Empeño.

The Manalo brothers were also allegedly abducted by Palparan’s group and were hidden in different detachments and safehouses before they managed to escape in Pangasinan in 2006.

They told the court that they saw the students Cadapan and Empeño in the safehouse where they were also detained, and sometimes saw Palparan and his men there.

The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, which provided lawyers to the Empeño and Cadapan families, were elated over the decision that, according to the group, not only served justice but also sent a message to perpetrators of human rights violations.

"Despite tremendous odds and difficulties, the suffering mothers of Sherlyn and Karen through their supporters and lawyers have overcome what seemed to be a wild shot at a rare chance to make General Palparan and his likes accountable,” the NUPL said in a statement.

Human rights group Karapatan Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights also welcomed the court’s decision.

"This is a step forward for justice, though partial for so long as Karen and Sherlyn remain missing and numerous other violations remain unresolved,” Karapatan Deputy Secretary General Roneo Clamor said in a statement.

‘No special treatment’

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Monday said it respected the decision of the Malolos court to convict Palparan and two other military men.

"As it has been and always will be, the position of the AFP is submission to the majesty of the courts and respect for the rule of law,” Col. Edgard Arevalo, AFP spokesman, said.

"We also respect whatever legal recourse is available to and will be availed by [Palparan Jr.] et al. under the law and the rules of court,” he added.

There will be no special treatment for Palparan in the New Bilibid Prison, Bureau of Corrections chief Ronald "Bato” de la Rosa said.

"What special treatment can we give him there? They will all suffer from the over-congestion of the maximum compound,” de la Rosa said in a chance interview at Camp Crame Monday noon.

De la Rosa said Palparan would be received at the prison diagnostic center where he would stay for 60 days for quarantine, medical examination and other assessments.

Palparan will receive medical care if necessary but "the health service will not be used for personal motives,” de la Rosa said.

Moreover, Palparan cannot be the "Berdugo” inside the New Bilibid Prison, he said.

"He can be a Berdugo outside when he has firearms but in the prison, he cannot have firearms,” de la Rosa said.

with a report from ROY D.R. NARRA and FREDERICK SILVERIO