“The military cannot say that they do not have the money to transport their witnesses. It has all the resources—helicopters, tanks and all kinds of vehicles—and a huge budget. It is their duty to bring their witnesses without delay.” – Mrs. Erlinda Cadapan, mother of Sherlyn

By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO

Bulatlat.com

MALOLOS, Bulacan — Mothers of the the two missing students of the University of the Philippines Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan criticized the tactics being used by the military to further delay the kidnapping case they filed against Gen. Jovito Palparan, among others.

“They are always delaying the hearings. The reasons they are presenting before the court to justify their absence from the hearings are too shallow,” Connie Empeño told Bulatlat.com.

Mrs. Empeño is referring to defense lawyer Jose Cruz who failed to attend the hearing last April 7 due to “an emergency matter in the family.”

Although S/Sgt Edgardo Osorio, whom Cruz was supposed to represent, attended the hearing, he could not give his testimony because no judicial affidavit was submitted to the court days before the hearing, Julian Oliva Jr., counsel of the families, told reporters.

Desaparecidos, a group of families of victims of enforced disappearances, said in a statement that it is the fifth time that the military delayed the presentation of its witnesses.

“The arrest and prosecution of one of the Big Five fugitives, Gen. Jovito Palparan, is clearly being delayed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and their lawyers. Since Nov. 13, 2013, when the Malolos Regional Trial Court released a subpoena for six of Palparan et al’s defense witnesses, not a single valid judicial affidavit has been submitted; not one of their witness has been presented in court; and even their lawyers have been deliberately delinquent in meeting the orders of the court,” Cristina Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan, said in a text message sent to Bulatlat.com.

Palparan, Col. Felipe Anotado, Staff Sgt. Edgardo Osorio and Master Sgt. Rizal Hilario are charged with kidnapping in connection with the disappearance of the two UP students Karen and Sherlyn on June 26, 2006.

No budget for transportation?

Abner Torres, counsel to Palparan’s co-accused Col. Anotado, said military units to which the witnesses belong to could not allow them to attend the hearings due to the lack of a subpoena.

Oliva, however, told Bulatlat.com that they were duly notified and that the subpoena was sent as early as November 2013.

Torres also said before the court that no one would shoulder the expenses of the witnesses. Some of the witnesses, he added, are now deployed to places as far as Isabela province and in Jolo.

“It is no longer our problem. It is their problem,” Mrs. Erlinda Cadapan told Bulatlat.com.

Mrs. Cadapan said this is a clear manifestation that the military is trying to fool them. “We attend every hearing however difficult it is for us only to be fooled by them,” she added.

“We also sacrifice our time and resources to attend these hearings. I came all the way from Zambales and I traveled more than six hours to get here,” Mrs. Empeño said, “But we still go here.”

Mrs. Cadapan, for her part, said she traveled all the way from Laguna and left her hometown at around 2:30 a.m. just to attend the hearing.

The military cannot say that they do not have the money to transport their witnesses. It has all the resources—helicopters, tanks and all kinds of vehicles—and a huge budget. It is their duty to bring their witnesses without delay,” Mrs. Cadapan said.

Palabay added that the “lawyers of the AFP and Palparan et. al. said in a hearing at the Malolos RTC that the witnesses cannot attend because they have no money for their transportation expenses – a justification so paltry and so convoluted, which has appalled and disgusted the mothers of Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño who have been struggling to meet the expenses on the case.”

“The AFP has P162 billion ($3.6 billion) at its disposal for Oplan Bayanihan, yet they say they lack funds to transport their witnesses,” Palabay said.

Palabay said witnesses who have continuously failed to attend the court hearings are: Maj. Muchaimen Sangki, Maj. Vicel John Garsuta, Lt. Col. Enrique Clemente, Capt. Jeaneline Albesa and engineers Enrico Yuson and Mario Valerio of the Office of the Provincial Engineer in Bataan.

There are still four remaining scheduled hearings. The next hearing is scheduled on April 28.

Palparan still scot-free

Mrs. Empeño criticized the Aquino government for arresting and detaining innocent civilians while the likes of Palparan remains free.

“We cannot expect anything from this government,” Mrs. Empeño said.

On June 26, 2014, families and friends of the two missing UP students would commemorate the eighth year since they were abducted.

When asked by reporters if she believes that their daughters are still alive, Mrs. Empeño said, “To Karen, I hope that she is happy wherever she is. For me, she is alive for as long as I live. I would fight for you.”