DOJ to investigate convicted kidnapper Palparan's interview
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice will look into how convicted kidnapper retired general Jovito Palparan was interviewed by Presidential Communications Undersecretary on SMNI Network, and was also carried by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict official Facebook page.
“Undersecretary Deo Marco will conduct an investigation tomorrow. Let’s wait,” Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra told reporters on Thursday night.
Marco is the DOJ’s undersecretary for the Bureau of Corrections. The bureau is under the Department of Justice and supervises the New Bilibid Prison.
The DOJ and the court that convicted Palparan did not receive any request or permission for the interview, Guevarra added.
In 2018, the Malolos Regional Trial Court found Palparan guilty of kidnapping and serious illegal detention in the disappearance of University of the Philippines students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño in 2006.
Guevarra said they will check if Palparan’s case is under appeal as it may “have bearing on jurisdiction.”
He explained that the grant of interviews is “not clear,” but he said they will verify with the existing BuCor manual.
“The court still has jurisdiction, but granting interviews may be considered an operational matter that BuCor may resolve by itself,” he added.
'Vindication' for the convicted kidnapper?
More than three years after Palparan was convicted and moved to Bilibid to serve his sentence, Palparan got air time at the SMNI Network, owned by the self-styled pastor Apollo Quiboloy, through an interview with NTF-ELCAC's Lorraine Badoy, who also faces a slew of complaints for her continuous red-tagging.
In the interview, which was also shared by the NTF-ELCAC’s official Facebook page, Badoy said the program was conducted to “vindicate” Palparan, claiming that he was convicted “on trumped-up charges.”
Concepcion Empeño, mother of disappeared UP student Karen, slammed the interview. She said: “It is nauseating, to say the least, to see Palparan and this Badoy trying so hard to salvage the face of the berdugo for two hours, when Palparan is now a convicted criminal. The courts have convicted him, with overwhelming evidence and witness testimonies, for taking away our daughters. What a travesty of justice!”
SMNI is owned by Apollo Quiboloy, the spiritual adviser of President Rodrigo Duterte who has been indicted for conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, and sex trafficking of children; conspiracy; and bulk cash smuggling.
The so-called media outlet regularly reports misleading and false claims, gives platforms to politicians who make unfounded remarks, and red-tags government critics and activists despite lack of substantial evidence. — with report from Franco Luna
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