Spokesperson: Palparan hold-departure order not Malacañang's call

While it is confident the charges against him will stick, Malacañang on Sunday said it is leaving to the courts whether to issue a hold-departure order against retired Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said it is the courts handling the case against Palparan that will issue such a hold-departure order (HDO). “That will be subject to the court handling the case. It is not even the Department of Justice (DOJ) that will issue an HDO but the court to which his case will be raffled off,” she said on government-run dzRB radio. Valte made the response after some militant groups reportedly called for an HDO against Palparan. Earlier, Malacañang voiced confidence the charges recommended by the DOJ against Palparan and three other military officials for the disappearance of two student activists in Bulacan in 2006 will stick in court. Valte said the panel that conducted a preliminary investigation of the case against Palparan started its work in June. She also belied fears the recommendation may have been rushed, noting the preliminary investigation team was formed in June. Earlier, the DOJ panel of prosecutors investigating the incident found “probable cause” to charge Palparan, Lt. Col. Felipe Anotado, Master Sergeant Rizal Hilario, and Staff Sergeant Edgardo Osorio with two counts of kidnapping and serious illegal detention in connection with the abduction of University of the Philippines students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno. The panel of prosecutors gave weight to the “positive testimony” of witness Raymond Manalo, who claimed that Palparan visited and threatened him in the village hall of Sapang, San Miguel, Bulacan, and that Manalo even shared detention cells with the two female victims in an alleged safe house of the 7th Infantry Division, the commanding general then of which was Palparan. Because of Manalo’s testimony, the DOJ concluded that “Palparan had a direct hand in the detention of Sherlyn and Karen and that through his men, he had knowledge and control of the places where the women were held.” — LBG, GMA News