MAKABAYAN partylist lawmakers said the court decision convicting Retired Army Major General Jovito Palparan guilty over the disappearance of two student-activists should serve as "warning" to human rights violators that their time will come too.
On Monday, September 17, the Regional Trial Court Branch 15 found Palparan, Lieutenant Colonel Felipe Anotado Jr. and Staff Sergeant Edgardo Osorio guilty of kidnapping and serious illegal detention against University of the Philippines students Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan in 2006.
The three were sentenced to reclusion perpetua or from 20 up to 40 years of imprisonment, according to the decision penned by Judge Alexander Tamayo.
READ: Palparan, 2 others 'guilty' of kidnapping UP students
Kabataan Representative Sarah Elago said the conviction of Palparan will send a clear message to the "budding dictators" and the "perpetrators of human rights" that soon their day of reckoning will come.
Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Isagani Zarate, who welcomed the decision, said this was "painfully long overdue" but is adamant that the court decision will make a precedent against other human rights violators.
"Now that Palparan, et.al. have been found guilty, other human rights violators should be next," Zarate said.
Anakpawis Representative Ariel Casilao also hoped that the decision will serve as a warning to military officials who are currently "wreaking havoc" on the lives of lumads and farmers, particularly in Mindanao where martial law is still in effect.
Empeño and Cadapan disappeared on June 23, 2006 in Hagonoy, Bulacan.
It was in 2011, or after almost five years, when the Malolos RTC ordered Palparan arrested. He went into hiding.
Three years later, on August 2014, Palparan was arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation and elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in his hideout in Sta. Mesa, Manila.
READ: Jovito Palparan arrested
Elago and the rest of the progressive lawmakers said the conviction is a long-awaited victory for the families of the desaparecidos or the disappeared.
"We welcome the decision of Judge Tamayo of Malolos RTC. We salute the families, lawyers and human rights’ defenders who tirelessly fought for justice as well as Judge Tamayo who bravely convicts the coward butcher," said.
But Elago added this should not be the end for the fight against the culture of impunity reigning in the country.
Human Rights Watch, in a separate statement, said this development "is a big blow against impunity in the Philippines."
"This ruling by a Philippine court came after a long and agonizing struggle for justice by the families and supporters of the two activists, who remain missing," said Carlos Conde, HRW-Philippines researcher.
The decision, he added, "should also serve as a reminder to state security forces that justice and the law will catch up with them sooner or later."
Various activist groups were also elated by Palparan's conviction.
“We are extremely elated that justice has finally caught up with the coward butcher. The law and evidence is not only on our side this time around but we are on the side of truth and justice,” the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) said in a statement.
“His conviction sends the message that cocky perpetrators of hideous human rights violations will meet their match in the fortitude of the mothers, the strrength of the mass movement, the courage of human rights defenders, and the value of good lawyering for the people,” it added.
The NUPL also “wishes” that Palparan would face perdition.
Bayan Secretary General Renato Reyes, for his part, congratulated the families, lawyers and human rights group who all work together to attain justice for Palparan’s victims.
“This is a warning to all human rights violators. Impunity is not forever. The time of reckoning has come,” Reyes said.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines said it is yet to receive a copy of the decision, but assured that the military will submit “to the majesty of the courts and respect for the rule of law.”
From the Malolos court, Palparan was brought directly to the National Bilibid Prison. (With VLA/SunStar Philippines)