Fidel Figueroa 
SA halip na pagdurusa sa kasalanang ginawa, hayahay umano ang buhay-bilibid ni dating Army General Jovito Palparan sa New Bilibid Prison (NBP) facility sa lungsod ng Muntinlupa.
Sa isang kalatas, kinastigo ni ACT Teachers partylist Rep. Antonio Tinio ang pamunuan ng Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) dahil sa paglipat kay Palparan sa minimum security compound.
Para kay Tinio, malinaw na binibigyan ng special treatment ni BuCor Director Gregorio Catapang si Palparan na dapat aniya’y nasa maximum security compound dahil sa bigat ng sentensya.
Gayunpaman, nilinaw ni Catapang na may banta sa buhay ng retiradong heneral sa maximum security compound.
“BuCor admits in its own response that Palparan is classified as a Maximum Security inmate. Yet, they keep him in a Minimum Security compound. This directly violates their own Operating Manual. By claiming they are doing this because of threat perception or facility constraints, BuCor is effectively admitting its inability—or unwillingness—to enforce standard security protocols for high-risk, high-profile convicts,” ani Tinio.
Kamakailan lang nang umani ng batikos si Catapang matapos sumingaw ang balita sa pananatili ni Palparan sa Philippine Military Academy sa Baguio City.
Sentensyado ng habambuhay na pagkakakulong si Palparan dahil sa pagpatay sa dalawang estudyante ng University of the Philippines (UP) na sina Sherlyn Cadapan at Karen Empeño noong 2006.
“Let us be clear: refusing to house a convicted human rights violator alongside the general maximum-security population—where all other maximum security inmates are held—is the very definition of special treatment. True equality before the law requires the uniform application of detention standards. Palparan is a convicted kidnapper and human rights violator, not a VIP who gets to choose his quarters.”
