Malacanang Withdraws Appointment of Controversial General
Danny Chan
The Philippine government rescinded the appointment of a recently retired general to a position on the National Security Council. Various organizations accused Gen. Jovito Palparan of human-rights violations, prompting Malacanang to withdraw his nomination to the post of special deputy in charge of counter-insurgency.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the president instead nominated Maj. Gen. Pedro Cabuay, a former chief of the Armed Forces. Mr Ermita said Mr Cabuay’s appointment was President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s decision but refused to speculate if Mr Palparan would be offered another position at the Department of Defense or with the Presidential Task Force on Anti-Insurgency.
Mr Palparan, who retired on Sept. 11 after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56, was known as “The Executioner” while leftist groups refer to him as “The Berdugo” (Butcher) because of torture, summary executions and other violations he allegedly ordered over the past five years. The Asian Human Rights Commission said Mr Palparan left behind a wide swath of alleged human-rights violations during the military’s battle against the country’s insurgents in the southern islands. During the past 11 months, soldiers under his command allegedly terrorized civilians in part of the government’s campaign against separatists in the south. Mr Palparan has consistently refuted the allegations.
“I value human life, the very essence of what we protect as soldiers,” Mr Palparan said during his retirement ceremony as head of the Army 7th Infantry Division on Sept. 11. “I hurt inside when my men make the supreme sacrifice for flag and country. That is why it hurts when I am accused of wanton disregard for life, more so by those who do not even respect the law or abide by the rules of engagement.”
In a report released in August, Amnesty International stated the Philippines witnessed an increase in political killings since Mrs Macapagal-Arroyo’s ascension to the presidency in 2001. The London-based human-rights lobby group said Mr Palparan was one of the ranking military commanders during Mrs Macapagal-Arroyo’s “all-out-war” against the communists.
Mr Palparan said the rebels are abetted by “non-government organizations” which back them. He also identified the political party Bayan Muna (Nation First) as one such organization.
The general, who has been quoted as stating “I want communism totally erased,” added that many victims “are not really innocent” and suggested many of the killings were carried out by civilians in retaliation for murders perpetrated by communist rebels.
The World Council of Churches has decried the murders and urged the government to disband the death squads, private militias and paramilitary forces inside the country.
“Since 2001 more than 740 people who have worked with and for the poor in the Philippines have been assassinated in extrajudicial killings,” the council said. AI said appointing Mr Palparan would be an affront to human-rights victims and advocates.
“When people are retired, give them the chance to retire instead of giving them another controversial position. It’s like giving another legacy to Palparan. We should give a chance to others who are also competent,” Jessica Soto, AI’s executive director in the Philippines, said. She added his appointment to the National Security Council would undermine efforts to address human rights abuses.
“With that move, the government is putting itself in a bad light and it even jeopardizes the government’s pronouncements in addressing human rights,” Ms Soto said. Teodoro Casino, the representative for Bayan Muna, said killings would continue if Mr Palparan served the nation’s intelligence apparatus.
“One of the theories we’re looking at is that the extrajudicial killings of members of militant groups is being launched by death squads formed by the government’s intelligence groups,” Mr Casino told reporters.
Renato Reyes Jr, secretary general of the militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, said a Palparan appointment would have undermined the Macapagal-Arroyo administration’s commitment to human rights.
“Cedulas, curfews, checkpoints, forced evacuations and other activities that have earned Palparan notoriety will likely be enforced on a nationwide scale. We call on human rights advocates, civil libertarians, other patriotic Filipinos to protest this latest injustice and assault on the Filipino people,” Mr Reyes told reporters.
Mrs Macapagal-Arroyo awarded the then Col. Palparan the “Gawad sa Kaunlaran” in 2002 and promoted him to the rank of brigadier general in January 2003.
As commander of the Army 204th Brigade in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro province that year, he was linked by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan and Karapatan to the killing of human-rights workers Eden Marcellana and Eddie Gumanoy. The general was subsequently transferred to the 2nd Infantry Division in Tanay, Rizal and was assigned to civic and medical operations in south central Iraq in 2004. He would later be promoted to the rank of two-star major general and appointed Army chief of staff.
In 2005, Mr Palparan was named chief of the 8th Infantry Division based in Eastern Visayas. It was at this posting that he was accused of complicity in 199 cases of killings, disappearances, harassment, torture and other human-rights abuses.
In August 2005, he was again relieved of his duties and assigned to the 7th Infantry Division in Fort Maysaysay, Nueva Ecija. Residents of Nueva Ecija accused Mr Palparan and his troops of imposing conditions comparable to martial law, such as being required to present a cedula (certificate of residence).
The 56-year-old general was born in Cagayan de Oro and completed a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1971 at the University of the East in Manila. He also holds a master’s degree in national security administration from the National Defense College of the Philippines. Mr Palparan is married with three children and joined the armed forces in 1974.
