Retired Army Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan. (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — Retired General Jovito Palparan has been arrested and would be detained temporarily at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Justice Secretary Leila De Lima said.
Palparan was arrested early Tuesday at a house on Teresa St. in Sta. Mesa, Manila by virtue of an arrest warrant issued by the Malolos regional trial court on charges of kidnapping and serious illegal detention of University of the Philippines students Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan.
“Palparan will be temporarily detained at NBI to await commitment order from RTC Malolos,” De Lima said in a text message.
De Lima said Palparan, former Northern Luzon chief, was arrested by a composite team of the NBI Anti-Organized Crime Division and the Armed Forces’ Naval Intelligence Group.
Palparan has been in hiding for three years now.
He is one of the “Big 5” most wanted men in the country. The other four are: Former Palawan Gov. Joel Reyes and his brother, former Coron Mayor Mario Reyes, former Dinagat Island Representative Ruben Ecleo Jr. and Globe Asiatique developer Delfin Lee. Lee has been arrested.
Palparan, called “the butcher” by political activists, went into hiding in December 2011 when he was ordered arrested by the Bulacan court in connection with the 2006 abduction of the two UP students.
The Reyes brothers disappeared in March 2012 after the Regional Trial Court in Puerto Princesa City issued warrants for their arrest for the murder of Palawan broadcaster and environmentalist Gerry Ortega.
Ecleo went into hiding after he was meted a 31-year jail sentence by the Sandiganbayan in 2006 for a graft case. In April 2012, a Cebu City court sentenced him to life imprisonment for the killing of his wife. He is the object of a nationwide manhunt.
Lee has a standing arrest warrant issued by a Pampanga court in May 2012 for a multibillion-peso housing scam. He has been arrested.