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Palparan conviction a 'flicker of hope' in climate of impunity —Commission on Human Rights


The conviction of retired Army Major General Jovito Palparan Jr. was called a sign by the Commission of Human Rights (CHR) on Monday that justice is still reachable for human rights victims even with the climate of impunity in the Philippines.

CHR spokesperson Atty. Jacqueline Ann C. De Guia said in a statement that the decision on the "enforced disappearance case of Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan brings a flicker of hope amidst the dark impunity that shrouds our country today."

"The court’s decision proves that the day of reckoning will come to those who trample upon human rights," De Guia added.

De Guia said the willpower and vigilance of families, human rights advocates, and the public could shorten the "long and difficult" road to due process and bring justice to victims deprived of it.

The same vigor shown in pursuing the case in Palparan for the sake of Empeno and Cadapan, she stressed, must be shown for the thousands of cases "that have not seen justice."

"Hence, there must be unrelenting effort to bring all perpetrators to account in order to fully trump the culture of impunity—the key factor that facilitates violation of rights and erosion of human dignity," she said.

Palparan and his two co-accused, former Lieutenant Colonel Felipe Anotado and former Staff Sergeant Edgardo Osorio, were sentenced to reclusion perpetua while a third accused, Rizal Hilario, remains at large.

All were ordered to pay P100,000 to Empeno and Cadapan's families, who want Palparan to "rot in jail."

Empeno and Cadapan were abducted on June 26, 2006 in Hagonoy, Bulacan.

Palparan denied having a hand in their disappearances in his last hearing in February. —Rie Takumi/KG, GMA News

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