“The abduction could not be carried out without Palparan’s knowledge,” Olalia told
Bulatlat.com
in an interview shortly after the hearing. “They [soldiers] were all
under Task Force Malolos. It’s a conspiracy. His men would not act
without his knowledge.”
By
RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat.com
MANILA — “Return our daughters!”
Mrs. Erlinda Cadapan shouted as she faced retired Gen. Jovito
Palparan Jr. and other military officers at the end of yesterday’s
hearing on the case of Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño.
After hearing once again the testimony of eyewitness Raymond Manalo
that her daughter Sherlyn was raped, the mother could not contain her
rage. Although Mrs. Concepcion Empeño, mother of Karen, did not utter a
word, she held a placard that read: “Palparan, guilty!”
Mothers of the two missing University of the Philippines (UP) students listen intently to the statements of respondents.(Photo by Ronalyn V. Olea / bulatlat.com)
The two mothers have been searching for their daughters, both
students of University of the Philippines (UP), for more than five
years. Karen and Sherlyn, along with farmer Manuel Merino, were abducted
on June 26, 2006 in Hagonoy, Bulacan by state agents.
In May, following a Supreme Court decision that pointed to Palparan
and other military officers as responsible for the abduction, the
mothers filed a complaint before the Department of Justice (DOJ). A
three-man panel of the DOJ led by Assistant State Prosecutor Juan Pedro
Navera conducted a series of hearings for the preliminary investigation
of the case.
At the clarificatory hearing, Sept. 23, the prosecutors propounded questions both to witnesses and respondents.
Positive identification
Manalo, who, along with his brother Reynaldo, was held by the
military from February 14, 2006 until their escape in August 2007,
positively identified Palparan, former commanding general of the 7th
Infantry Division, and other respondents M/Sgt. Rizal Hilario, Lt.
Francis Mirabelle Samson and Lt. Col. Felipe Anotado as some of the
soldiers whom he saw or talked to during the months he was held in
captivity. Raymond was able to describe vividly the soldiers who he
initially knew by their aliases.
Witness Raymond Manalo recounts how he met Karen and Sherlyn.(Photo by Ronalyn V. Olea / bulatlat.com)
On a whiteboard, Raymond wrote down the places where he was taken to
during his 18 months of captivity. These included Fort Magsaysay in
Nueva Ecija; a safehouse in Pinaud village, San Ildelfonso, Bulacan;
village hall of Sapang, San Miguel, Bulacan; Camp Tecson ; Limay,
Bataan; a safehouse in Iba, Zambales and a farm in Bolinao, Pangasinan.
Manalo met Karen and Sherlyn in Camp Tecson sometime in August 2006.
From there, Manalo, the two UP students and Merino, was transferred from
one camp or safehouse to another. It was in Limay, Bataan, at the camp
of the 24th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army where Raymond last
saw Karen and Sherlyn. He recounted how the students were raped by
M/Sgt. Donald Caigas. Caigas, also a respondent to the case, is already
dead.
Manalo also named Harry Baliaga, also implicated in the abduction of
Jonas Burgos, as one of those who abducted him. Baliaga is yet to be
named as respondent in this particular complainant.
According to Manalo, Palparan talked to him twice in one night in May
2006 when he was at the village hall of Sapang, San Miguel, Bulacan.
“He told us he would spare our lives if we followed his orders. He
said he would allow us to see our parents and we should tell our parents
not to attend hearings and rallies and not to talk to Karapatan,”
Manalo told the panel.....
MORE
Source: Bulatlat.com
URL:
http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/09/24/witnesses-recount-abduction-of-up-students-by-military/
