By Jaime Laude (The Philippine Star)
MANILA, Philippines - Retired Army Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, like the rest of his peers during their junior years in the military, was not exceptional but a risk-taker who will walk the extra mile to accomplish his assigned mission.
Not a graduate of the prestigious Philippine Military Academy but a product of the defunct Reserve Officers Training Course (ROTC), Palparan was called to active duty in 1973 and was dispatched to help fight the Muslim secessionists in Basilan and Sulu where he earned the respect of his men.
From his eight-year stint in the two troubled island provinces, Palparan was given various assignments in the Army until he became island commander of Mindoro in 2001 to address the rising communist insurgency.
The vow
While Palparan was heading back to camp following civil-military engagements, communist rebels ambushed his convoy.
Palparan, then brigade commander in the island province, was in the lead vehicle and already out of the so-called “killing zone” but chose to turn back to reinforce his men pinned down by enemy fire.
At the height of the fighting, Palparan got hit and almost lost one of his legs.
While in hospital Palparan was reportedly so mad and declared that if the rebels really a wanted war, he will give it to them.
From then on, Palparan’s name became synonymous with various successful operations against the communist rebels while key personalities whose groups were identified with the New People’s Army (NPA) also started disappearing and later ending up dead.
Militant groups blamed these incidents on Palparan who simply and constantly denied any involvement in the disappearance or death of personalities identified with the underground rebel movement.
To Samar
After surviving the Mindoro ambush, Palparan became the subject of an all-out campaign by leftist groups.
Palparan was then reassigned to Samar as commander of the Army’s 8th Infantry Division in Catbalogan City.
True to his word that he will fight the rebels anywhere in the country, Palparan led a no-nonsense campaign that almost crippled the NPA in Samar.
His no-nonsense anti-insurgency campaign got the ire not only of communist rebels but by politicians in the province.
Palparan recalled all military personnel assigned as bodyguards of politicians and deployed them for anti-insurgency duties.
Palparan was so daring that he ordered the bulldozing of the house of a suspected senior communist leader, the only untouched structure standing in the way of completion of a government road project outside Catbalogan, according to a senior officer who served under the former general. The senior NPA leader was forced to relocate to Metro Manila.
For this, Palparan became number one in the NPA hit lists but he took it head-on by ordering an intensified and sustained military campaign against the rebels.
To Iraq
From 2003 to 2004, Palparan was picked to command the Philippine Humanitarian Contingent in Iraq where he led Filipino troops in rescuing 10 Filipino truck drivers who were intercepted by Islamic militants.
“He was so daring that despite disapproval from his American counterparts, he along with all-Filipino troops launched the rescue operations and succeeded without getting any help or support from other security forces,” said another senior officer.
At the height of the rescue operations launched by Palparan, the Islamic militants were already holding captive another Filipino truck driver, Angelo de la Cruz, and threatened to behead him if the Filipino troops were not recalled by the Philippine government.
Following the withdrawal of Philippine troops from Iraq, Palparan upon his return was promoted to the rank of major general three months later.
7th infantry commander
As Army commander of Central Luzon based at Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, militant groups accused him of masterminding the kidnapping and murder of suspected NPA rebels and communist sympathizers.
Palparan, now 64, retired from the service as commanding general of the 7th Infantry Division in September 2006 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56.
He was later indicted by the court in the disappearance of UP students Karen Empeño and Sherilyn Cadapan.
Palparan went into hiding after the court issued a warrant for his arrest. He was arrested in a house in Sta. Mesa, Manila where he was staying for months.
Palparan, who also served as Bantay party-list representative after his retirement, sought a Senate seat in 2010 but lost.
No comments:
Post a Comment