MANILA — On Oct. 6, the Bulacan Regional Trial Court Branch 19 acquitted retired general Jovito Palparan Jr. over the kidnapping and illegal detention charges filed by Raymond and Reynaldo Manalo.
Read: Malolos court acquits Palparan
During the term of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Palparan led the brutal administration’s counterinsurgency program that left 1,118 activists killed while 204 were victims of enforced disappearance.
The Manalo brothers waited for 17 years for the court to decide on their case, which was originally set to Sept. 27 but the court had postponed it.
Read: Malolos court set to promulgate charges against Palparan
Read: Promulgation of charges vs Palparan postponed
The Manalo brothers 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.
Their testimonies led to Palparan’s conviction in 2018.
Although he was furious with the court’s decision, Raymond said that he was not surprised. “It only shows that impunity persists,” he said.
Read: Impunity still persists, says tortured farmer after Palparan acquittal
Read: Progressive groups condemn decision acquitting Palparan
But for Manalo, the fight is not yet over. On Oct. 23, he, with the assistance of his counsels from the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), filed a motion for reconsideration also in Malolos court.
Read: Torture survivors appeal court decision acquitting ‘Butcher’ Palparan
This story is supported by the German Embassy Manila as part of Bulatlat’s project titled, “Advancing human rights reporting in the Philippines as a tool for upholding gender fairness, democracy and accountability.”
