A Bulacan court has denied over lack of merit the petition of convicted retired general Jovito Palparan to reopen the charges against him for plea bargaining, a court procedure where the accused would plead guilty to a lesser offense.
“In fact, these people continue to harass my family. They keep on telling my sibling that I would no longer be able to set foot in their community ever again.”
“This case was filed in 2008 and it is only now that it is progressing. But I am not completely happy, with the absence of all accused Cafgu members, and the fact that Palparan is not yet back at the Bulacan provincial jail.” — — torture victim Raymond Manalo
“I am saddened that the arraignment did not push through. Still, I am resolved to fight until Palparan’s conviction. I hope Duterte will be true to his word – criminals must be sent to jail.”
“The long arm of the law, tardy as it may be, has caught up with him.”
“To call it a ‘long overdue decision’ is an understatement. Raymond Manalo has been denied justice many times over, and this Ombudsman decision, while it establishes accountability through prosecution of Palparan et al, is also a testament to the failings of the current justice and social system.”
“Amidst the din and reverie of the past holidays and some mercurial election inanities, we were glad to learn that the trial court correctly denied Gen. Palparan’s delusional bid to be granted bail.”
“I really believed, while I was in there, that they were really going to kill me.”
Torture and abduction survivor Raymond Manalo testifies against “The Butcher.”
“While his transfer to a regular detention cell today is some kind of soothing balm to a lot of pain and suffering for his many victims, the fight for justice is far from over. His unscrupulous disciples of darkness will not tire of wronging a right to protect evils incarnate.” – Edre Olalia, National Union of People’s Lawyers secretary general