FACT-CHECK: X user makes wrong claim on retired army general Jovito Palparan Jr.’s eligibility for parole

CLAIM: Jovito Palparan Jr. cannot avail himself of amnesty because he was “innocent”

RATING: FALSE

An X user made the false claim last Oct. 7, that retired army general Jovito Palparan, Jr. was not eligible for parole due to his “innocence” in several cases filed against him.

Palparan, however, was found guilty on Sept. 17, 2018, over the kidnapping of two University of the Philippines students – Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan. 

In 2022, the Court of Appeals affirmed his conviction and modified his original sentence into reclusion perpetua without eligibility for parole.

Recently, Palparan was acquitted in a case involving the kidnapping and illegal detention of two farmers, but his prior conviction remains. 

An investigation had found circumstantial evidence against Palparan in a series of killings and abuses.

During President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s term, a commission led by former Supreme Court associate justice Jose Melo looked into the assassinations of journalists and left-wing activists.

The Melo Commission confirmed that Palparan and certain people within the armed forces were involved in the killings, whether they initiated them or “inspired” others to commit such heinous crimes.

The commission concluded that Palparan should be held responsible for failing to prevent, punish, or condemn the killings under the principle of command responsibility. Yvvoune Bermudo

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Yvvoune Bermudo is a Journalism student from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines and an intern for PressOnePH. This piece was created under the supervision of PressOnePH’s editors.