MALOLOS CITY - Retired Army General Jovito Palparan denied that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is coddling him and assured that he will refuse if offered assistance by retired generals.
“This is my own fight, do not blame the AFP and the retired generals for the continued failure of the government to have me arrested,” Palparan said in a one-page statement given by his lawyer, Jesus Santos, to journalists yesterday.
The retired military general said that he has deep respect for the AFP and the retired generals and he will not implicate them in a situation where their reputation will be put at stake.
“Once again, I call on the human rights groups to stop dragging the name of the AFP and the retired generals. Stop accusing them of coddling me,” Palparan said as he reiterated his vow not to surrender.
He said the AFP is a noble institution, whose members have pledged and took the oath to protect the people and uphold the law at all times.
He stressed that even if the AFP and the retired generals offer him assistance including a place to hide, he will not accept saying, “ I don’t want them to be involved.”
With regards to charges of kidnapping with serious illegal detention filed against him, the retired general said he instructed his lawyers to file all pleadings allowed before the court and the Department of Justice to prove that the charges against him are false and the procedure conducted was improper.
Santos, meanwhile, appealed to the government to consider utilizing Palparan for his skills brought by his training and experience as a soldier.
“General Palparan has always expressed his love for our country. He was never tainted with charges of corruption,” Santos said and added that his client was even sent by the government to head the Philippine contingent to East Timor and Iraq.
Santos also said that he has sent a letter to the director of the National Bureau of Investigation to help find Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño, the two missing University of the Philippines (UP) students abducted in Hagonoy town on June 26, 2006.
Palparan is accused of masterminding the kidnapping of the two students.
Last week, Santos manifested in court that he received information that the two students are still alive.
“I believe that they are still alive, and if found, there will be no case against General Palparan,” Santos said.
However, members of militant groups think otherwise.
They said that information manifested in court by Santos may lead to another wild goose chase, and might be part of a grand design to delay the case.
Members of Alyansang Mamamayan Para sa Karapatang Pantao (ALMMA)-Bulacan chapter said Palparan must be immediately hauled to jail.
They also challenged Palparan to surrender and prove his innocence before the court of law.
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PhilStar.Com
February 10, 2012 01:31 PM
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