THE National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers lamented the acquittal of retired Major Gen. Jovito Palparan in the 2006 kidnapping and serious illegal detention of farmers Raymond and Reynaldo Manalo.
The NUPL, which had served as private prosecutor in the consolidated criminal cases filed against Palparan and several others in 2016, said the verdict of the Bulacan regional trial court was “difficult to accept.”
“After all, the Manalo brothers continue to bear the scars of the brutality inflicted on them and the trauma caused by their captivity,” the NUPL said in a statement.
Nevertheless, it would continue its fight for justice, it said.
“It is a setback that we face with determination – a determination to continue pursuing justice to the darkest corners, a determination, as lawyers, to meet injustice with resilience. For now, a heavy heart,” it said.
The group said the acquittal was a disappointment, and noted that Palparan’s tour of duty in parts of the country was marked by allegations of serious human rights abuses, including extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances.
It also said the experience of the Manalo brothers, who had been kept in captivity and tortured for more than a year before their escape in 2007, was a “cautionary tale of what could happen to others who unwittingly enter the crosshairs of the military should violations of human rights by authorities be allowed to run rampant in an enabling climate of impunity.”
It said it keeps in its heart the case of Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan, whom Palparan was convicted of kidnapping and detaining.
Palparan is behind bars over this case.
Raymond Manalo was a witness in the case.
The NUPL also reminded “petty tyrants” that power is temporary.
“The law, if wielded to advance the cause of the voiceless and to defend the defenseless, can still bring low the mighty and strip the untouchables of their invincibility,” it said.
metrosundaily
