MANILA: Former Army general Jovito Palparan vowed to fight to the end a seemingly insurmountable legal battle.
The first is the legal battle in court and the second is the court of public opinion, he said.
While his lawyer Narzal Mallari helps him in his legal battles, Palparan is counting on the support of the people who benefited from his anti-insurgency campaigns.
“They are still there, but not consciously organised as the communist rebels and their supporters,” he said, referring to fishpond operators on the coastline of Bulacan who for decades suffered from revolutionary taxation by the rebels.
Palparan described his supporters as “silent” but ready to help.
For starters, his lawyer filed a motion to change venue of the kidnapping with serious illegal detention charges he is facing. Palparan said among the reasons is his concern for his safety.
While he felt secure inside the Bulacan provincial jail, he said the threat against him remains.
As former commander of the Army’s 7th Infantry Division from 2005 to 2006, Palparan said he made enemies among communist insurgents. Palparan is charged with two counts of kidnapping and serious illegal detention in connection with the alleged abduction of UP students Karen Empeño and Sherilyn Cadapan in 2006.
Militant groups want Palparan to face charges of human rights violations, including the abduction and disappearance of the two UP students.
THE PHILIPPINE STAR
