MASINLOC, Zambales—Family and friends rejoiced here on Monday as a Bulacan court convicted retired Army Maj. Gen. Jovito S. Palparan Jr. and two cohorts for the kidnapping and illegal detention of missing University of the Philippines student and Masinloc native Karen Empeño 12 years ago.
Karen’s father, Oscar, said that congratulatory messages poured from relatives and acquaintances by phone, text and social media, expressing happiness and relief over the long-awaited justice that was finally handed down for Karen and fellow UP student Sherlyn Cadapan.
Karen and Sherlyn were forcibly taken away by armed men from a village in Hagonoy, Bulacan, on June 26, 2006, along with farmer Manuel Merino, and have remained missing since. Palparan, who earned the moniker “The Butcher” for allegedly torturing his victims, was tagged by witnesses as the mastermind of the abduction.
Aside from this, reports compiled by human-rights groups linked Palparan to 71 cases of extrajudicial killings, 14 frustrated killings and five massacres during his stint as Army chief in Mindoro alone.
On Monday Judge Alexander Tamayo of the Bulacan Regional Trial Court sentenced Palparan, Lt. Col. Felipe Anotado Jr. and S/Sgt. Edgardo Osorio to the highest penalty of reclusion perpetua after finding them guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crimes of kidnapping and serious illegal detention.
Palparan and his coaccused were also ordered to pay the heirs of Karen and Sherlyn the amount of P100,000 as civil indemnity, and P200,000 as moral damages for each of the two cases filed against them.
“We are very happy with the conviction,” Oscar Empeño said in reaction on Monday. “While we never imagined it would take us this long to get justice for Karen, we have won at last.”
Karen’s mother, Concepcion, who was in Bulacan for the promulgation of the sentence, said she was also satisfied with the decision handed down by Judge Tamayo.
“I’m happy that Palparan has been found guilty and it is only right that he should rot in jail,” Concepcion told the BusinessMirror in a text message.
“After the long years that we had to fight to gain justice, this conviction restored my faith in our judicial system and proved that even ordinary people like us could win against the powerful,” she added.
“But despite this victory we gained, we call on Palparan and the others to surface Karen and Sherlyn. We will not accept their claim that they had nothing to do with the disappearance of our daughters,” Concepcion also said.
Oscar Jr., who is Karen’s elder brother, also said that despite the guilty sentence handed down by the court, the family felt that the victory they won was not complete.
“Of course, we are jubilant over the verdict, but our fight has not yet ended,” Oscar Jr. said. “We will pursue our call to surface Karen, Sherlyn and other victims of state-sponsored forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.”
“It is not enough for Palparan and his accomplices to be jailed because they have betrayed their sworn duty to protect citizens. Our family will continue looking for Karen and will prepare for the long fight ahead,” he added.