I join the Inquirer in hailing the conviction of Gen. Jovito Palparan as a triumph of justice, delayed though it was.
I distinctly remember the day I cross-examined Palparan when he testified before the Melo Commission, of which I was the general counsel.
He carried himself with the aplomb and swagger of invincibility; he had been earlier singled out for fulsome praise by then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in her State of the Nation Address.
I asked him the question, “Is it true that wherever you were assigned there was a marked increase in the incidence of extrajudicial killings?”
Without batting an eyelash, he admitted it with incredible cockiness, arrogance and defiance.
Had he denied it, I was ready to impeach him with copies of numerous media interviews where he repeatedly boasted about the bloody trail of extrajudicial killings he had left in all the provinces where he was assigned, especially in Mindoro.
The Melo Commission thus strongly recommended to Arroyo the criminal prosecution of Palparan.
Let this be a lesson to all the police authorities who are engaged in extrajudicial killings with glee and impunity.
ROGELIO A. VINLUAN, ravinluan@accralaw.com