Philippines’ MANILA The Malolos Regional Trial Court Branch 19 has dismissed all allegations against retired major general Jovito Palparan for kidnapping, grave illegal detention, and severe physical harm.
Farmers Raymond and Reynaldo Manalo had filed the charges against him ten years prior.
The Manalo brothers were surprised by the unexpected ruling and were joined by their legal counsel from the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) and the parents of Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeo.
The Manalo brothers’ supporters, NUPL, expressed shock and dismay at the court’s ruling, calling it “unbelievable.”
Edre Olalia, chairman of the National Union of People’s Lawyers, said in a statement that it would be extremely difficult to explain to the Manalo brothers, the parents of still-missing Karen and Sherryl, and the countless others he had red-tagged and victimized why they cannot seek legal redress despite the “credible, categorical, and convincing” accounts that even the appellate courts have previously established.
The statement continued, “It is even a huge challenge to understand how he could have been earlier convicted primarily on the basis of the testimony of the same witness survivor by one court and would later be acquitted on the same testimony in a separate case brought by the same said witness survivor in another court.”
The testimony of Raymond Manalo in the Cadapan and Empeo kidnapping case, which initially resulted in Palparan’s conviction, is at the heart of the current legal controversy.
Palparan, who worked for former President Gloria Arroyo, has a history of controversy due to his participation in counterinsurgency operations that have drawn criticism for alleged abuses and executions.
