Hiding an option, says Palparan

MANILA, Philippines – An arrest warrant for retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan is out. But is he ready to spend Christmas in jail?

“Mukhang ‘yun ang plano (Looks like it). It’s orchestrated. Hopefully our legal system is still in place,” Palparan said in an interview. “Ito kasi brasuhan eh, by hook or by crook, basta makulong si Palparan,” Palparan told Rappler.com shortly after the news came out that a Bulacan court had issued an arrest warrant against him.

“I will consult with my lawyer. There may be legal remedies available for me. What they’re doing is illegal,”  Palparan added.

But we asked: You are not going to hide?  His answer:

“Ang option na ganyan, minsan maiisip mo yan. Sarili mo yan. Ilalagay mo ba sarili mo sa alanganin? Ang daming threat sa akin.” (That’s an option. It’s personal. Would I expose myself to trouble given the threats against me?)

The retired general recalled that previous reports have described him as a “dead man walking.” The threat is worse now, he said, because the Aquino administration is allied with the Left.

“They consider the communists as allies,” he said in Filipino. “How will you feel about that? How would this impact on my situation?”

But Palparan stressed that hiding is not his first option. “That is not my first option. Mayroong legal remedies siguro.”

Palparan claimed he is in Manila. It’s a day after the Bureau of Immigration blocked him from leaving the country for Singapore upon orders of the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Gripes
Branch 14 of the Bulacan RTC issued the warrant days after the DOJ approved two cases of kidnapping and serious detention against the general and three others over the 2006 disappearance of students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno. Palparan insisted that kidnapping doesn’t apply to his case.

Is he ready to be arrested? “Wala naman ako magagawa kung huhuliin ako (I can’t do anything if they arrest me),” Palparan said.

Palparan said that he has always been supportive of governments.

“I supported the first Aquino administration in the best that I could. We risked our lives.  I never joined a coup d’etat despite repeated invitations,” he said.

“I’m a defender of the Constitution. They’re insisting I am an enemy. I never fought the government. So this is too much if they’re using illegal methods against me.”  – Rappler.com