The families of missing University of the Philippines (UP) students and activists Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño urged the Supreme Court (SC) on Monday, June 15, to compel the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) to disclose the whereabouts of retired Philippine Army major general Jovito Palparan.

According to the families, they received information that Palparan was no longer inside the New Bilibid Prison and had been transferred elsewhere.

In September 2018, a Bulacan court convicted Palparan of kidnapping and serious illegal detention — both grave offenses — over the disappearance of Empeño and Cadapan in 2006.

Palparan, along with Lieutenant Colonel Felipe Anotado and Staff Sergeant Edgardo Osorio, were sentenced to up to 40 years in prison.

In their June 15 petition, the families and the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) said there were two instances where the notices sent to Palparan in Bilibid were returned because he was no longer detained there.

First, in relation to a petition filed by a Raymond Manalo, the notices sent to Palparan were returned unserved and had annotation stating that he “moved out (transferred to BuCor – Baguio)” on February 27, 2026.

Another SC resolution dated October 13, 2025 were returned with annotation “moved out to PMA Baguio,” — referring to Palparan.

“Considering that petitioner Palparan was convicted of serious illegal detention with kidnapping and that his conviction was subsequently affirmed by the Court of Appeals, he should still be serving his sentence of reclusion perpetua at the Maximum Security Camp of the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City,” the families said.

“Allowing a convicted perpetrator of grave human rights violations to receive extraordinary accommodations sends the wrong message — that accountability may be evaded by those with power or connections. It diminishes the hard-won victories of victims and their families, who have endured years of pain and suffering in their pursuit of justice,” the NUPL said.

BuCor: Palparan still in Bilibid

In response, BuCor director general and retired military general Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. said in a statement on Monday that Palparan remains detained in Bilibid.

“Catapang categorically denied these claims, affirming that Palparan continues to serve his sentence within the premises of the New Bilibid Prison. He emphasized that any transfer of inmates, especially high-profile individuals like Palparan, follows strict protocols and involves proper documentation, none of which has been recorded for the retired general,” the BuCor said.

The bureau also released photos showing Palparan attending a medical mission. However, the photos were taken on March 31, or almost two months before the families’ petition at the SC.

For the NUPL, Palparan’s photos and videos, which had no timestamps and clear indications where they were taken, were not enough to prove that the retired military general is still in Bilibid.

According to the lawyers, the official court records — which had annotations that Palparan had been moved out — contradict Catapang’s statement.

“These annotations constitute clear admissions by NBP personnel that, according to their own records, Palparan was no longer confined at the facility,” the NUPL said.

“While General Catapang was quick to deny the allegations raised in the Manifestation filed before the Supreme Court, he has yet to present any evidence to support his claim. If Palparan is indeed still detained at the NBP, BuCor could have readily provided documentary proof,” said NUPL president Ephraim Cortez.

Finding the elusive ‘Butcher’

For his alleged crimes, Palparan earned the monicker “Berdugo” or “The Butcher” from human rights groups.

Between 1981 to 1991, Palparan was accused of these allegations: seven cases of summary execution, a massacre, an abduction, five incidents of harassment, five illegal arrests and detention, and a case of aerial assault. He was the commander of the Army’s 24th Battalion in Bataan at the time.

When he was the chief of the 8th Infantry Division in Samar and Leyte from February to April 2005, Palparan was accused of allegedly killing five people, two frustrated murders, five abductions, and five cases of harassment, among others.

In 2006, Palparan’s 7th Infantry Division allegedly abducted farmers Raymond and Reynaldo Manalo from their homes in Bulacan. It was also the same military division that allegedly abducted Cadapan and Empeño. During her State of the Nation Address that year, then-president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo even commended Palparan for his supposed campaign against communism.

Under then-Department of Justice (DOJ) secretary Leila de Lima, DOJ prosecutors found probable cause in 2011 to charge Palparan and other officials with kidnapping and serious illegal detention. A Bulacan court issued a warrant against him, but Palparan went into hiding.

Supposedly, he planned on surrendering in Pampanga, but he never appeared. By 2012, the Aquino administration had raised the bounty for Palparan’s arrest to P2 million.

After three years in hiding, Palparan was finally arrested in Santa Mesa, Manila in 2014.

Four years later, in 2018, he was convicted over Cadapan and Empeño’s disappearance. In June 2022, the Court of Appeals affirmed Palparan’s conviction in this case.

However, in 2023, Palparan secured a legal victory in another case. A Bulacan court acquitted Palparan and five other military officials of kidnapping and serious illegal detention of brothers Raymond and Reynaldo Manalo.

Raymond was a key witness in Cadapan and Empeño’s case, and his testimony helped in convicting Palparan. But as to their own case, the court said the Manalo brothers failed to clearly identify the men who abducted them from their farm in San Idelfonso, Bulacan in 2006. – Rappler.com