[1] On September 17, 2018, Palparan was found guilty of kidnapping and serious illegal detention over the enforced disappearance of Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño in 2006,[2] and was sentenced to 40 years imprisonment.
Teodulfo Bautista, Palparan and his Delta Company, 24IB encountered the group of about 150 rebels in Mt Sinumaan, Patikul, Sulu on February 24, 1978.
[citation needed] From February to August 2005, Palparan was the Commanding General of the 8th Infantry (Storm Troopers) Division in Eastern Visayas.
[4] In the 2006 State of the Nation Address, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo acknowledged Palparan's successes in offensives against members of the New People's Army.
In the 2007 congressional elections, Bantay garnered 169,869 votes and ranked 32nd among party-list groups, which was insufficient to allow it to send any representative to congress under the formula used at the time.
This incident took place at a time when Central Luzon was being driven by a fierce conflict between the government and the communist New People's Army.
[14] According to the official investigation, eyewitness Raymond Manalo stated that Palparan tortured Sherlyn by hitting her mouth and punching her breasts and stomach area until they bled.
Manalo also noted that he saw the military stealing from nearby villagers, burning dead bodies using gasoline, and shooting a farmer riding a carabao.
The military then dragged Karen out from her cell, stripped her naked, tied her wrists and ankles, beaten, water-tortured, burned with cigarettes, and raped with pieces of wood.
[15][16] On December 15, 2011, Palparan was indicted for 2 counts of kidnapping and serious illegal detention in connection with the abduction of still missing UP student activists Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño in 2006.
[25] On December 14, 2015, the Malolos Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 15 rejected Palparan's bid to be released on bail despite his plea that he is running for Senate.
[26] On September 17, 2018, Palparan and his associates, former lieutenant colonel Felipe Anotado and former staff sergeant Edgardo Osorio, were found guilty of kidnapping and serious illegal detention over the enforced disappearances of Cadapan and Empeno in 2006.
[27] In 2022, the Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction and modified the interests of the penalty, imposing a sentence of reclusión perpetua "without eligibility for parole" and "a 6-percent annual interest on the ₱300,000 civil indemnity and moral damages to be paid to the families of UP students Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan from the date of finality of the decision until full payment".
[3] On October 6, 2023, the Malolos Regional Trial Court Branch 19 acquitted Palparan on the charges against kidnapping, serious illegal detention, and serious physical injuries brought against him by the National Union of People's Lawyers (NUPL) on behalf of the two farmer brothers, Raymond and Reynaldo Manalo, as well as the parents Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño.
180906, October 7, 2008) and pointed out differences in Raymond Manalo's statements, such as mentioning being 'dragged to Reynaldo's house' in contrast to the previous case where he was said to be taken in a white L300 van.