Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director General Gerald Q. Bantag has explained to the Department of Justice (DOJ) why he allowed the media interview last March 30 of convicted retired Army Maj. Gen. Jovito S. Palparan Jr.
But neither Bantag nor DOJ Undersecretary Deo S. Marco obliged to give details of the explanation.
“We will meet with SOJ (Secretary of Justice Menardo I. Guevarra) this week to discuss,” said Marco who supervises BuCor for the DOJ.
Last May 31, the Court of Appeals (CA) has affirmed the conviction of Palparan and two other military officials for the kidnapping and serious illegal detention in 2006 of two University of the Philippines students Karen E. Empeno and Sherlyn T. Cadapan.
However, instead of only reclusion perpetua (a prison term ranging from 20 years and one day to 40 years) imposed by the Malolos City regional trial court (RTC) in 2018, the CA decision said the imprisonment is “without eligibility for parole.”
Palparan is now detained at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City. It could not be immediately confirmed if Lt. Col. Felipe G. Anotado Jr. and S/Sgt. Edgardo Osorio, whose trial court convictions were also affirmed by the CA, are also detained at the NBP.
Empeno and Cadapan were abducted in Hagonoy, Bulacan on June 26, 2006 and have been detained since then in various places in Luzon. Their whereabouts are still unknown.
Secretary Guevarra had earlier issued a memorandum to Bantag to show cause within 10 days why he shouldn’t be sanctioned for granting the SMNI interview to Palparan.
Guevarra said that “the relevant rules under the manual of operations of the BuCor were not properly observed.”
He cited in particular the “rules on media access of PDLs (persons deprived of liberty), especially high-profile PDLs, which require the authorization of the justice secretary and also observance of reasonable conditions, such as no discussion of any pending cases before the media.”