MANILA — Former Army major general Jovito Palparan could now defend himself in court, a Palace official said in reaction to reports that retired generals believe that Palparan is a victim of trial by publicity.
“Now he has the chance to have an actual trial,” Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a press briefing in Malacañang on Friday.
Asked if the government does not recognize Palparan’s success in his anti-communism campaign in the past, Valte said his past efforts are not the issue.
She said that Palparan, who is facing serious illegal detention charges, could argue in court that his actions were part of his duty as a military man.
“Those are matters of defense that are properly taken up in a trial. If he intends to adopt that as a defense, then he is free to do so,” she said, adding that the Palace does not want to get mired in the issue by reacting to Palparan’s past performance.
On why the President did not entertain Palparan’s surrender feelers, Valte said he may not have seen it fit.
The President thought that if Palparan really wanted to surrender, then he could have turned himself over to anyone or to the authorities, she explained.
Palparan, one of the most wanted persons, was arrested by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Manila before dawn on Tuesday.
Authorities have offered a P2-million bounty for information leading to his capture.
The former congressman is accused of illegally detaining missing activist Jonas Burgos and University of the Philippines students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño, as well as executing suspected members of the New People’s Army.