HOLIDAY CHILL COMES LATE
MANILA, DECEMBER
28, 2011 (MALAYA)
BY RAYMOND AFRICA (Robredo: Surrender feelers going nowhere ) -
Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo yesterday offered P500,000 for any
information that would lead to the capture of retired Army Major Gen. Jovito
Palparan despite reports that the man tagged by leftist groups as "The Butcher"
sent surrender feelers last Saturday.
"Mukhang walang patutunguhan ang surrender feelers niya (Palparan) kung kaya
we decided na magpalabas ng P500,000 para sa ikakahuli ni Palparan," Robredo
said.
Robredo said Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin was designated to handle
Palparan's possible surrender. He did not elaborate.
He said tracker teams have gone to identified addresses of Palparan, yielding
negative results.
"Naniniwala kami na nasa loob pa rin siya ng bansa. Kailangan natin ng tulong
ng lahat para matukoy kung nasaan siya. Mabibigyan naman siya ng fair chance to
defend himself," Robredo added.
PNP chief Nicanor Bartolome said they are hoping that the reward money would
help facilitate Palparan's arrest.
"That is why we initiated yung reward money ay baka mapabilis yung either pag
surrender or yung pagbigay sa amin ng information ng community. Whichever comes
first, then yung ang aming gagamitin. Kung merong surrender feeler na
mag-materialize, okay. Kung una yung information which necessitates the release
of reward money, okay din," he said.
Palparan, Col. Felipe Anotado, M/Sgt. Rizal Hilario, and S/Sgt. Edgardo
Osorio were ordered arrested by a Malolos regional trial court for kidnapping
and serious illegal detention of UP students Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan
last June 2006.
Anotado and Osorio surrendered to the AFP Provost Marshal.
It was during Palparan's tenure as commander of the Army's 7th Infantry
Division from 2006 to 2007 that members of leftist groups either mysteriously
disappeared or became victims of extra-judicial killings.
Bartolome assured Palparan that he will provided fair treatment once he is
detained at the PNP Custodial Center in Camp Crame until the court decides on
his detention place.
Palparan filed an eight-page omnibus motion asking Malolos Judge Teodora
Gonzales to recall the warrant of arrest (WOA) and hold-departure order (HDO)
issued against him, and to order a reinvestigation of the criminal complaint
filed by the parents of Empeño and Cadapan.
Palparan said he and his co-accused were only investigated for rape, serious
physical injuries, arbitrary detention, maltreatment of prisoners, grave
threats, grave coercion, violation of International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Punishment.
He said he only submitted in his counter-affidavit evidence related to the
charges during the preliminary investigation.
Thus, he said, the prosecutors' finding of probable cause indicting him for
kidnapping and serious illegal detention was in violation of the 1987
Constitution which states that "no person shall be held to answer for a criminal
offense without due process of law."
"The rights of the accused to due process and to be informed of the nature
and cause of the accusation against them were violated in the filing of the
Information in the instant case. Consequently, the issuance by this court of the
WOA as well as of the HDO is bereft of any factual and legal basis. The
information, WOA and HDO suffers from the same legal infirmities. Necessarily
they should be quashed and/or recalled to save the accused from further
suffering and injustice," he said.
Palparan said the filing of the information without the observance of due
process can be considered as "persecution" rather than prosecution.
The trial court granted the motion of the Justice department to issue a
warrant of arrest and HDO against Palparan and co-accused after finding judicial
probable cause against them.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the Palace welcomes Palparan's
intentions to surrender.
"(If) he would like to surrender to a fellow military official or to anyone
who he feels that he's comfortable with, then it's fine with us."
Militant human rights groups started putting up "Wanted: Jovito Palparan Jr."
posters along Commonwealth Avenue in Philcoa, Quezon City, while members of the
Desaparecidos, Victims United for Justice (Hustisya), Selda and Karapatan have
distributed flyers to the public.
The posters and flyers feature an image of Palparan with the word "Wanted."
"We want him (Palparan) to rot in jail," Mary Portajada, secretary general of
Desaparecidos, said.
Militant groups appealed to the public who may have any information on
Palparan to contact the NBI at 523-8231 to 38 or Karapatan at 435-4146. – With Evangeline de Vera, Jocelyn Montemayor and Angela Lopez de
Leon
FROM PHILSTAR
Baguio's holiday chill comes late By Artemio
Dumlao (The Philippine Star) Updated December 28, 2011 12:00 AM
BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – Finally, Baguio is feeling the chill.
The temperature dropped to 12 degrees Celsius at dawn last Monday, the
coldest so far this Christmas season.
Yesterday morning, temperature was recorded at 15 degrees Celsius.
According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical
Services Administration (PAGASA), colder mornings are ahead in the next two
months.
The official cold months in the highlands start from
December and lasts until February when the Siberian winds from the Pacific
blow the melting ice from China.
The coldest temperature recorded in the Philippines was in Baguio in January
1961 at 6.1 degrees Celsius.
In recent years, the coolest was recorded at 7.5 degrees Celsius in the
morning of Jan. 15, 2009.
Government weatherman Salvador Olinares said the chill that has seen
residents here bringing out their warm clothes is brought about by the
northeasterly winds oscillating from North Pole countries.
Meanwhile, in Benguet where the temperature is usually two to three degrees
lower, it is starting to turn icy, especially in the revered Mt. Pulag, Luzon's
highest point and the country's second highest peak after Mt. Apo in
Mindanao.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2011 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All
rights reserved
PHILIPPINE
HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/phnotweet
This is the PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE (PHNO) Mailing List.
To stop receiving our news items, please send a blank e-mail addressed to: phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Please visit our homepage at: http://www.newsflash.org/
(c) Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
phno-digest@yahoogroups.com
phno-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
