By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
Bulatlat.com
MALOLOS, Bulacan — 17 years.
This is how long Raymond Manalo and his brother Reynaldo waited for this fateful to come. But on Friday afternoon, Manalo walked out of the Malolos court – breathing heavily, his face red with apparent fury, and eyes welling up.
“Takot ka, judge!” Manalo said.
On Oct. 6, the Malolos Regional Trial Court Branch 19 acquitted retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan and several members of the Citizen Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU).
They were abducted from their home in San Ildefonso, Bulacan on Feb. 14, 2006. They were tortured and held incommunicado in several military camps in Central Luzon until they escaped in 2007.
During their detention, they met the still missing two University of the Philippines (UP) students Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan, as well as farmer Manuel Merino, in a military camp. The two witnessed their torture and later took the stand against the retired general and two other military officials.
Read: Timeline: Search for Justice for Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño
Their testimonies led to Palparan’s first conviction in 2018.
This time, however, in their own case, the Manalo brothers were not able to attain justice over the two counts of kidnapping and serious illegal detention with serious physical injuries charges.
What court said
In its decision, the Malolos court said that the prosecution failed to prove the conspiracy between and among Palparan and the accused CAFGU members.
The decision stated that no evidence was presented to establish that the retired general ordered the abduction of the Manalo brothers to which the CAFGU members acceded.
On the kidnapping charges, the court agreed that the Manalo brothers were indeed “detained and deprived of their liberties for more than a year” and that in the process “physical injuries were inflicted” on them.
However, the court cited inconsistencies with the affidavits he executed in relation to the case, including the supposed differences in Manalo’s description of the basketball court in Sapang village where he met Palparan.
“Ordinary human experience dictates that a two-star general and division commander would not visit a critical place in the wee hours of the morning and meet an ordinary person just to introduce himself and to tell the said person to relay to his parents not to attend hearings, rallies, and not to talk to Karapatan,” the decision read.
Judge Francisco Felizmenio of the Malolos RTC Branch 19 added that there is “no good reason” for Palparan to wait another hour for the Manalo brothers to return only to tell them to be good.
“It pains me,” said Manalo in Filipino, “because in all the cases where I testified in, the courts believed in me except this – Branch 19. I am confused why he was acquitted.”
Long road to justice
Manalo’s search for justice has been long and arduous, from the filing of his case before the Ombudsman in 2008 and before the Malolos court in 2016.
His testimony was once hailed for being “clear, consistent, and convincing” by the Supreme Court en banc when it affirmed the appellate court’s decision in the habeas corpus proceeding for the two missing UP students.
“I am no longer surprised. It only shows that impunity persists,” he told the media.
Manalo said that he will meet with his lawyers to know how they will proceed following the acquittal.
Asked by journalists if he has a message for Palparan, Manalo said, “he can enjoy (the decision) for now. But I will continue to fight.” (DAA) 
