Faculty members at the University of the Philippines (UP) slammed on Saturday, April 2, the media interview of retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr.
(Screenshot from SMNI)
Palparan was interviewed by Presidential Communications Undersecretary and National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) Spokesperson Lorraine Badoy on March 30.
The interview was aired on Apollo Quiboloy-led SMNI.
“The interview was nothing but malice and lies. It was the monstrous attempt of SMNI and NTF-ELCAC to rehabilitate the reputation of a butcher and convicted kidnapper,” said Congress of Teachers/Educators for Nationalism and Democracy (CONTEND) in a statement.
In 2018, Palparan was found guilty of kidnapping and serious illegal detention in the 2006 disappearance of UP students Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan.
“Karen and She have been missing for fifteen years, while the man responsible for their disappearance is given a platform for his deceit and be lauded as a hero. It is the highest mockery of justice,” said CONTEND Member Lakan Umali.
“It is ironic that the NTF-ELCAC and Palparan present themselves as guardians of peace and order, when they red-tag and cause the murder of innocents while partnering with a network owned by one of the United States of America’s most wanted sex traffickers,” Umali added.
The progressive academic group asserted that Palparan is a convicted criminal and stressed that "no amount of public relations can erase the stink of his butchery."
“He is beyond contempt. The public should see the interview for what it is: a discredited butcher interviewed by a discredited red-tagger government agency on a discredited media outlet. They are a match made in hell.”
The Department of Justice is currently probing the television interview of Palparan who is currently detained at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.