MANILA, Philippines - The arrest of retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan will not improve the human rights situation in the country, rights group Karapatan said on Wednesday.
Karapatan secretary general Cristina. Palabay said that military officials who have the same anti-communist stance as Palparan continue to occupy key positions in the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
"They even lauded Palparan’s campaign of terror against the so-called rebels that actually victimized unarmed civilians," Palabay added.
She said that the rights violations are committed under the Aquino administration's Oplan Bayanihan.
"The arrest of Palparan will not improve the human rights situation in the Philippines as long as counterinsurgency programs are used to quell people’s dissent instead of addressing the root causes of the armed conflict," Palabay said.
Palabay cited the case of University of the Philippines graduates, Guiller Cadano and Gerald Salonga, whom the police and military abducted and jailed on August 9.
She said Gen. Eduardo Año, chief of the Intelligence Service of the AFP, who boasts of Palparan’s arrest, is also accountable for numerous violations such as the disappearance of agriculturist Jonas Burgos.
Año is the incoming commander of the 10th Infantry "Agila" Division in Davao Region.
"This poses more threat to the people of the Davao region, specifically Compostella Valley who are already faced with terror by intense counter-insurgency operations," Palabay said.
Año is also involved in the arrest of peace consultants of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Benito Tiamzon and Wilma Austria-Tiamzon.
Karapatan said the arrest is a violation of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) between the government of the Philippines and the NDFP.