Court denies bail for Palparan's co-accused

From Rappler (Jul 26): Court denies bail for Palparan's co-accused

WHERE IS HE? Retired Maj Gen Jovito Palparan, in this file photo, remains at large while his two co-accused are denied bail. File photo by Rappler

 

A local court has denied the application for bail of the two co-accused of fugitive retired Maj Gen Jovito Palparan in the alleged abduction of students Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan.
 

In a July 12 order, Malolos regional trial court Judge Teodora Gonzales said the accused, Army Col Felipe Anotado and S/ Sgt Edgardo Osorio, were not able to present strong evidence that would favor their application for bail.

The court said "the prosecution thus far had shown that evidence of guilt against the accused for said crimes is strong."

Palparan and the two were charged with kidnapping and serious illegal detention for the disappearance of Empeno and Cadapan. The two University of the Philippines students have been missing for 7 years now. They were abducted by armed men in Hagonoy, Bulacan, on June 26, 2006, at the height of the Arroyo administration's campaign against suspected communist guerrillas.

READ: 2 UP students still missing after 7 years

Palparan was once the commanding general of the Army's 7th infantry division which has jurisdiction over Bulacan. Notorious for alleged human rights violations, he remains at large.

Among the 4 witnesses presented by the prosecution against Palparan and his men was Wilfredo Ramos, who said he saw the two victims "dragged, hogtied and boarded" in a stainless jeepney that day.

Ramos also mentioned he had seen a certain S/ Sgt Edgardo Osorio "as the one who hogtied Sherlyn and Karen during the incident."

Another witness, Raymond Manalo, who testified he had also been kidnapped but managed to escape, said he personally saw a certain Col Felipe Anotado, as "having the custody of Karen and Sherlyn for some specific time during the abduction."

"Allegedly he was the one who fetched victims Sherlyn and Karen for a dialogue with M/ Gen Palparan on September 1, 2006, while they were detained in the 24th Infantry Batallion in Limay, Bataan, that Col Anotado likewise visited Limay, Bataan for three occasions, where at one time the latter conversed with witness Manalo," the prosecution said.

"As to whether or not the accused were only maliciously pinpointed for the kidnapping of the victims is a matter that at this stage can only be considered as a defense that calls for further factual support in the course of judicial proceedings," the prosecution added.

The other witnesses presented were Empeno's mother Concepcion as well as Cadapan's mother-in-law Adoracion Paulino.

Paulino testified that Cadapan went to her house in Calumpit, Bulacan "accompanied by several soldiers to get some clothes.... after her disappearance on June 26, 2006."

http://www.rappler.com/nation/34883-court-denies-bail-for-palparan-s-co-accused