Mother of student missing for five years seeks justice

Manila: A woman whose daughter is missing since 2006 called on the authorities to issue a "shoot-to-kill" order against a retired military general who is absconding since he was charged with alleged responsibility in the killing of many political activists.

Instead of offering a 1 million peso (Dh 91,591) bounty for the arrest of former Army General Jovito Palparan Jr, the government should issue a shoot-to-kill order against him, said Erlinda Cadapan, the mother of Sherlyn, a student of the premier University of the Philippines (UP) who went missing in 2006.

"My family has suffered a lot looking for Sherlyn for the past five years," Cadapan said.

Karen Empeno, also a UP student, went missing with Sherlyn in 2006.

"I don't think the government is serious in helping us get justice for our children," Cadapan said.

Despite his absence, the hearing of Palparan's case is going on in a regional trial court in Malolos, suburban Bulacan.

"Only a person guilty of his crimes will elude arrest like this," said Cristina Guevarra, secretary-general of Victims United for Justice. "We have yet to see Palparan in jail," Guevarra said.

She also blamed President Benigno Aquino for "allowing government agents to be deceived by a notorious military criminal".

At the same time, Families of the Disappeared for Justice said: "We are declaring a people's manhunt for Palparan."

During his tenure, Palparan was a former commanding officer of a military brigade and two military divisions.

He was allegedly behind thousands of human rights violations in Southern Tagalog, Eastern Visayas and Central Luzon, prompting activists to call him ‘The Butcher'.

He was allegedly behind 138 extrajudicial killings in Mindoro, southern Luzon (2003); Visayas, central Philippines (2005); and Central Luzon (2006), Karapatan, a rights group, said.