Super: Re-enactment PERCY: Its two in the morning in a small town north of Manila. A group of men force their way into the home of a local farmer, where two university students are also staying. 00:09
Solder: Open up! Or well shoot all of you! 00:22
Wilfredo Wilfredo: I woke up when I heard Aunty Sherlyn shouting. 00:29
Re-enactment PERCY: This re-enactment is based on the sworn statement of 14 year old Wilfredo Ramos. 00:37
Wilfredo: He told me not to be afraid. All they are taking are the two UP students. 00:43
Soldier: Sit there! What's your name? 00:54
Karen: Karen Empeno. 00:59
Soldier: And what's your name? 01:01
Sherlyn: Sherlyn Cadapan. 01:03
blindfolded Mother! Help! Mother help! 01:15
Photos. Sherlyn PERCY: Sherlyn Cadapan was 29 years old with a baby on the way. She was an accomplished athlete and a former phys ed student from the University of the Philippines. 01:32
Photos. Karen On that night, she was with Karen Empeno, a sociology student from the University. 01:43
They were conducting research into the plight of peasant farmers, so that 22 year old Karen could complete her thesis.01:51
Looking at Karens diary
Concepcion: This is Karens compilation of her childhood up to her 18th birthday. Im really proud of her, because she excelled in all subject areas so every subject area there is a medal. 02:00
PERCY: Karen Empeno is the third of Concepcion Empenos five children; by all accounts, a clever girl, loving and dedicated to her friends and family. 02:15
Concepcion: And this is papa and Karen with mama. 02:27
Oscar feeds chickens PERCY: From their modest home in the province of Zambales, to the northwest of Manila, Concepcion and Oscar Empeno have struggled to come to terms with whats happened to their daughter. 02:38
Concepcion in jeepney Almost a year ago, Mrs Empeno was looking forward to a visit from Karen.Concepcion: Her birthday is July 22 and my birthday is July 23rd. 02:56
Concepcion. Super: Concepcion Empeno And she was not able to come home because June 26th was her abduction. She was supposed to be with with the family. 03:11
School children sing anthem Singing 03:25
PERCY: On the day she found out about her daughters disappearance, Mrs Empeno was at the local primary school, where she is Principal. 03:35
School children take pledge. Concepcion at school
Singing 03:43
PERCY: It was just an ordinary day - until she got a text message from one of Karens friends.Concepcion: I just shed my tears when I got the news. 03:47
Concepcion: I wanted Karen to be with us, I want to see her (crying) because probably she would be alive, I want to see her alive, not dead. I miss Karen, the family miss her very, very much. 04:01
Empeno house
PERCY: The families say the women have been caught up in an undeclared war against those on the wrong side of politics. 04:28
Traffic Since 2001 hundreds of members of farmers organisations, trade unions, and leftist activists have been killed or have disappeared. 04:37
Army training The Empenos and the Cadapans believe the military took their daughters and they say theres evidence to prove it. 04:49
Oscar shuts gate and walks down corridor
On June the 27th - the night after the women were abducted, Oscar Leuterio, says he was being held captive at a military base. He says he saw the women with several soldiers. 05:02
Oscar: The soldiers were drinking in the terrace of the safe house when I heard one of them say There are two women in the van. 05:16
Oscar They are pretty, and lets make them dance while we are drinking. 05:26
Fort Magsaysay military camp Music 05:32
PERCY: Oscar Leuterio says Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno were brought here to the Fort Magsaysay military camp, in the neighbouring province. 05:35
Accused of being a communist rebel, Mr Leuterio says he was held in a house on the base with at least 8 others. 05:48
Oscar: The woman with me lost her mind. The way we were tortured, the same could have been done to them. 05:56
Palparan: PERCY: This is the man who was in charge of Fort Magsaysay at the time Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan are said to have been there -- Major General Jovito Palparan. 06:09
PERCY: Were they ever at Ft Magsaysay where you were commanding as has been alleged? 06:22
Palparan: I dont think so. 06:29
PERCY: You dont think so? Why dont you know? 06:31
Palparan: I dont think so. Theres none, no information about that. 06:34
Soldier takes aim Music 06:37
PERCY: During our visit to Fort Magsaysay, new recruits get their first taste of life with the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the AFP. 06:49
Like any military trainees, the young men are taught the importance of discipline and team work. But while recruits in other parts of the world look for their enemies in history books or foreign lands, in the Philippines the enemy is here and now -- among some of its ninety million citizens. 07:04
Seaside villages Music 07:23
PERCY: In the barangays or villages across the country, the military is engaged in a prolonged campaign against the Communists, and their armed wing, the New People's Army or the NPA. 07:31
Mariano: The New People's Army, which is the one waging the armed struggle, do two things. First one is agitation - the other one is propaganda. 07:44
Mariano. Super: Brigadier General Manuel Mariano(Asst Commander, )7th Infantry Division, AFP So agitation and propaganda. How do they terrorise a populace of about 5000 in a barangay? They get one, kill that in the basketball court in front of so many people and the entire barangay is already terrorised. 07:59
Archival. Newsreel Newsreel Music 08:20
Newsreel Narration: After 48 years of American sovereignty, the people of the Philippines assume the status of an independent nation. 08:23
PERCY: Communist rebels have been fighting the Philippines government on and off ever since independence. 08:30
Several years after the fall of Ferdinand Marcos in the mid-eighties the Communist Party was finally legalised and absorbed into the legitimate political process. 08:39
Archival. NPA But the New People's Army has continued the guerrilla war and is classed as a terrorist organisation by the United States and the European Union. 08:52
Mariano Mariano: They would like to change our democratic system into a socialist oriented form of government. 09:01
Military on patrol PERCY: The armed forces of the Philippines says that many legal left wing organisations, including the 09:13
Photo. Karen in League of Filipino Students t-shirt
League of Filipino Students -- to which Karen Empeno belonged -- are recruitment agencies for the guerrillas.09:19
Mariano: Basically their strategy is to pursue the concept of converting our democratic system 09:26
Mariano into Maoist, Leninist and Mao Tse Tung thought. 09:32
Banaue poverty Music 09:36
PERCY: While Communism has all but disappeared in most parts of the world, it is alive and well in the Philippines, partly because of the millions of desperately poor people here. 09:44
Music 09:55
Paddy fields PERCY: Successive governments have promised to redistribute land to the poor, but have failed to deliver.10:01
Peasant farmers are routinely intimidated by rich land owners who pay off the politicians. Since the current government came to power, hundreds of people working to mobilise the poor have been murdered, or suddenly disappear.10:10
Poster of Karen and Sherlyn at rally 10:30
PERCY: The deaths and disappearances have brought the families and friends of the victims together, seeking solace and justice. 10:38
Mrs Empeno meets regularly with Erlina Cadapan, Sherlyn's mother. 10:49
Singer at rally Song: I will look for you in the scream of a bullet 10:59
Concepcion and Erlina at rally PERCY: The victims' campaign has gained momentum since the release of a United Nations investigation implicating members of the military in the extrajudicial killings. 11:11
Song: I will ask around from thousands of hands 11:21
PERCY: The report also criticises the government of President Gloria Arroyo for failing to act. 11:25
SINGER: Justice for all victims of violence.
Crowd: Justice for all victims!...Justice! 11:39
Concepcion and Erlina weeping. Laying flowers at photos of missing Song: How can we cry out for justice 11:43
PERCY: The international attention only provides so much comfort for the Empeno and Cadapan families. 11:56
Erlina: Bring her back! 12:02
PERCY: They blame Major General Jovito Palparan. Hes been dubbed 'The Butcher' because of the high incidence of unexplained killings in the last three of his Command posts.12:07
He denies all knowledge of Karen and Sherlyn. 12:20
But he says there was military intelligence about two female NPA guerrillas operating in the area at the time. 12:25
Palparan: They may be students before, I dont know, but they were the ones who were actually dominating the locals there. 12:34
Palparan. Super: Major General Jovito Palparan(Retired)Theyre the ones taxing people, theyre the ones intimidating people and they have firearms, and the people are saying that they are the ones who are involved in the killings of a number of people in that area. 12:47
PERCY: And you think that could have been Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan? 13:04
Palparan: Perhaps, perhaps they are the ones they are looking for. 13:07
PERCY: The military spends of lot of its time and resources looking for the Communists and trying to root out the New People's Army from rural areas. 13:11
Kakilala shows poster Kakilala: This is Lady Amazon, we call it the NPA who was killed by her own comrades. 13:24
She was a former student of Central Luzon State University. 13:30
PERCY: Lt Colonel Joey Kakilala is leading the fight against the NPA in Central Luzon province. The Armed Forces of the Philippines says it's being blamed for killings that are part of an internal purge by the communists. 13:33
Kakilala: Our conscience is clear that the AFP would not tolerate all of these kinds of actions, such as extrajudicial killings. 13:48
Mariano. Super: Brigadier General Manuel Mariano(Asst Commander, )7th Infantry Division, AFP Mariano: There is no such thing as extrajudicial killings insofar as military operations is concerned. It is only done by the communist terrorists. 13:56
Kakilala visits villagers PERCY: Across the country, the military is trying to win the "hearts and minds" of the people. Colonel Kakilala says the program is working in this village, which was once home to more than a thousand supporters of the NPA. 14:09
Kakilala: Going to school? Spell cat C-A-T Good boy. 14:25
PERCY: Colonel Kakilala was under the command of General Palparan until the General's retirement last year. 14:30
Palparan
PERCY: Have you ever been involved in extrajudicial killings
or any of these abductions or disappearances of leftist activists? 14:37
Palparan: No I am at the level of, when I was accused of these I was already brigade commander, then division commander. There are three or five levels down that are doing ah tactical level for activities. 14:46
PERCY: Did you ever Palparan: I provided command, I provide the direction, but not tactical activities. 15:10
PERCY: Did you ever order your subordinates to engage in extrajudicial killings 15:20
Palparan: No.PERCY: or disappearances, or abductions?Palparan: No, no, I know its illegal. I know its illegal. No.15:25
PERCY: And then this extraordinary admission that he could have inspired civilians to kill. 15:30
Palparan: I might have encouraged or inspired people to take the law into their own hands. But that is not intentional. I was only encouraging them to fight or to defend themselves. 15:35
Zuno. Super: Jovencito ZunoChief State Prosecutor
Zuno: He was not able to control his men in some areas in the country where they were assigned. And I would say in one of his testimonies he said that I did not really order my men to kill, I only inspired them. 15:47
Zuno walks to office PERCY: Jovencito Zuno is the top prosecutor in the Philippines. He served with the Melo commission, a government inquiry into the extrajudicial killings. 16:11
Zuno: The superior officer cannot escape responsibility or liability for any acts committed by his men within his supervision. 16:16:22
Zuno PERCY: The President is the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines surely she has to take some responsibility? 16:33
Zuno: When these extrajudicial killings reached that alarming point, she created the taskforce that would investigate these extrajudicial killings and this Melo Commission. 16:40
State of the Union Address. Super: June 2006 MC: Her Excellency Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the President of the Republic of the Philippines. 16:56
PERCY: While the President has finally taken steps to investigate the deaths that have escalated since shes been in power 17:08
SUPER:Gloria ArroyoPresident. The Philippines Arroyo: In the harshest possible terms, I condemn political killings 17:16
PERCY: she has also twice promoted the man militant groups call The Butcher -- and publicly praised him. 17:24
Arroyo: In the 7th Division area of responsibility, Jovito Palparan has come to grips with the enemy. He would not give up until the people are freed from the night of terror and arise to a new dawn of justice and freedom. 17:30
Palparan PERCY: Do you think the communist party should be illegal? 18:04
Palparan: Yes, because they are doing a lot of illegal things. They're actually destroying communities, families people, individuals, organisations, institutions. They have to be out. They have to disappear. 18:07
PERCY: But do you accept that there is a difference between the people who are waging the armed battle, and those who are unarmed, who may just be students who are trying to advise farmers of their rights, theyre trade unionists trying to advise workers of their rights? 18:28
Palparan: There is a difference somehow in the approach. But eventually its the same, because they are talking to people, assisting them for the purpose of inviting them to revolution. 18:44
Military on patrol PERCY: The constant threat of a military coup means Mrs Arroyo cant take too strong a line against her military leaders. And just last year, the President declared an "all out war" against the Communists, saying the insurgency had to be crushed within two years. 19:06
Concepcion: It's like martial law, it's the same as martial law under the Marcos regime. 19:24
Concepcion I hate the military as I hate the government. Because they are not really giving us security. They are a threat. 19:32
Family dinner Concepcion: That was the last time we were together. 19:46
PERCY: The Empeno family is doing its best to continue their lives. But where once music filled their home, there is now a heaviness and a sadness here. 19:49
Karen's parents refuse to believe what a government minister told them -- that their daughter was a senior cadre with the
New People's Army. 20:00
Oscar Empeno During our visit, Oscar Empeno, revealed his own past, as a member of the underground resistance movement fighting the Marcos regime. 20:08
Oscar: I was one of the organisers of the FIST - the Financial Intermediary Society Against Tyranny. That was martial law time. So if I can no longer see my daughter I have to go back to that time. 20:19
Family dinner PERCY: Karen Empeno was heavily influenced by her father's radical background. 20:41
Oscar: She knows too much. 20:46
PERCY: About what? 20:48
Oscar Oscar: The graft and corruption. The disparity in the lives of the Filipino people. Those are just two. And she knows the revolution. She has read from those books. She was inspired by it. 20:49
Sunset/Military installation Music 21:11
PERCY: The Empenos have held meetings with politicians, and written letters to public officials including the President. They're pursuing a court case against the military. Still they don't know where their daughter is or if anyone with any authority is trying to find out what happened to her.21:17
But they hope and pray that they'll see her again. 21:39
Concepcion Concepcion: Im appealing that she will be surfaced the earlier or immediately. The government should not be waiting for so long. 21:45
Photo. Karen Oscar: They have to surface her, and arraign her and charge her with treason, rebellion 21:58
Oscar so we will know if shes still alive or shes dead - just produce her body, dead or alive. 22:06
PERCY: What would you like to say to her? 22:17
Oscar: Just sing her favourite song. 22:20
[sings]: You help children of the farmerDont worry about the pain in your heartNobody else can fix the situation 22:25
Oscar but you, Its in your hands.Thats it! 22:38
Reporter: Karen PercyCamera: David LelandEditor: Simon
BrynjolffssenProducer: Marianne Leitch Research: Kate Gunn 22:4623:00
Solder: Open up! Or well shoot all of you! 00:22
Wilfredo Wilfredo: I woke up when I heard Aunty Sherlyn shouting. 00:29
Re-enactment PERCY: This re-enactment is based on the sworn statement of 14 year old Wilfredo Ramos. 00:37
Wilfredo: He told me not to be afraid. All they are taking are the two UP students. 00:43
Soldier: Sit there! What's your name? 00:54
Karen: Karen Empeno. 00:59
Soldier: And what's your name? 01:01
Sherlyn: Sherlyn Cadapan. 01:03
blindfolded Mother! Help! Mother help! 01:15
Photos. Sherlyn PERCY: Sherlyn Cadapan was 29 years old with a baby on the way. She was an accomplished athlete and a former phys ed student from the University of the Philippines. 01:32
Photos. Karen On that night, she was with Karen Empeno, a sociology student from the University. 01:43
They were conducting research into the plight of peasant farmers, so that 22 year old Karen could complete her thesis.01:51
Looking at Karens diary
Concepcion: This is Karens compilation of her childhood up to her 18th birthday. Im really proud of her, because she excelled in all subject areas so every subject area there is a medal. 02:00
PERCY: Karen Empeno is the third of Concepcion Empenos five children; by all accounts, a clever girl, loving and dedicated to her friends and family. 02:15
Concepcion: And this is papa and Karen with mama. 02:27
Oscar feeds chickens PERCY: From their modest home in the province of Zambales, to the northwest of Manila, Concepcion and Oscar Empeno have struggled to come to terms with whats happened to their daughter. 02:38
Concepcion in jeepney Almost a year ago, Mrs Empeno was looking forward to a visit from Karen.Concepcion: Her birthday is July 22 and my birthday is July 23rd. 02:56
Concepcion. Super: Concepcion Empeno And she was not able to come home because June 26th was her abduction. She was supposed to be with with the family. 03:11
School children sing anthem Singing 03:25
PERCY: On the day she found out about her daughters disappearance, Mrs Empeno was at the local primary school, where she is Principal. 03:35
School children take pledge. Concepcion at school
Singing 03:43
PERCY: It was just an ordinary day - until she got a text message from one of Karens friends.Concepcion: I just shed my tears when I got the news. 03:47
Concepcion: I wanted Karen to be with us, I want to see her (crying) because probably she would be alive, I want to see her alive, not dead. I miss Karen, the family miss her very, very much. 04:01
Empeno house
PERCY: The families say the women have been caught up in an undeclared war against those on the wrong side of politics. 04:28
Traffic Since 2001 hundreds of members of farmers organisations, trade unions, and leftist activists have been killed or have disappeared. 04:37
Army training The Empenos and the Cadapans believe the military took their daughters and they say theres evidence to prove it. 04:49
Oscar shuts gate and walks down corridor
On June the 27th - the night after the women were abducted, Oscar Leuterio, says he was being held captive at a military base. He says he saw the women with several soldiers. 05:02
Oscar: The soldiers were drinking in the terrace of the safe house when I heard one of them say There are two women in the van. 05:16
Oscar They are pretty, and lets make them dance while we are drinking. 05:26
Fort Magsaysay military camp Music 05:32
PERCY: Oscar Leuterio says Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno were brought here to the Fort Magsaysay military camp, in the neighbouring province. 05:35
Accused of being a communist rebel, Mr Leuterio says he was held in a house on the base with at least 8 others. 05:48
Oscar: The woman with me lost her mind. The way we were tortured, the same could have been done to them. 05:56
Palparan: PERCY: This is the man who was in charge of Fort Magsaysay at the time Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan are said to have been there -- Major General Jovito Palparan. 06:09
PERCY: Were they ever at Ft Magsaysay where you were commanding as has been alleged? 06:22
Palparan: I dont think so. 06:29
PERCY: You dont think so? Why dont you know? 06:31
Palparan: I dont think so. Theres none, no information about that. 06:34
Soldier takes aim Music 06:37
PERCY: During our visit to Fort Magsaysay, new recruits get their first taste of life with the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the AFP. 06:49
Like any military trainees, the young men are taught the importance of discipline and team work. But while recruits in other parts of the world look for their enemies in history books or foreign lands, in the Philippines the enemy is here and now -- among some of its ninety million citizens. 07:04
Seaside villages Music 07:23
PERCY: In the barangays or villages across the country, the military is engaged in a prolonged campaign against the Communists, and their armed wing, the New People's Army or the NPA. 07:31
Mariano: The New People's Army, which is the one waging the armed struggle, do two things. First one is agitation - the other one is propaganda. 07:44
Mariano. Super: Brigadier General Manuel Mariano(Asst Commander, )7th Infantry Division, AFP So agitation and propaganda. How do they terrorise a populace of about 5000 in a barangay? They get one, kill that in the basketball court in front of so many people and the entire barangay is already terrorised. 07:59
Archival. Newsreel Newsreel Music 08:20
Newsreel Narration: After 48 years of American sovereignty, the people of the Philippines assume the status of an independent nation. 08:23
PERCY: Communist rebels have been fighting the Philippines government on and off ever since independence. 08:30
Several years after the fall of Ferdinand Marcos in the mid-eighties the Communist Party was finally legalised and absorbed into the legitimate political process. 08:39
Archival. NPA But the New People's Army has continued the guerrilla war and is classed as a terrorist organisation by the United States and the European Union. 08:52
Mariano Mariano: They would like to change our democratic system into a socialist oriented form of government. 09:01
Military on patrol PERCY: The armed forces of the Philippines says that many legal left wing organisations, including the 09:13
Photo. Karen in League of Filipino Students t-shirt
League of Filipino Students -- to which Karen Empeno belonged -- are recruitment agencies for the guerrillas.09:19
Mariano: Basically their strategy is to pursue the concept of converting our democratic system 09:26
Mariano into Maoist, Leninist and Mao Tse Tung thought. 09:32
Banaue poverty Music 09:36
PERCY: While Communism has all but disappeared in most parts of the world, it is alive and well in the Philippines, partly because of the millions of desperately poor people here. 09:44
Music 09:55
Paddy fields PERCY: Successive governments have promised to redistribute land to the poor, but have failed to deliver.10:01
Peasant farmers are routinely intimidated by rich land owners who pay off the politicians. Since the current government came to power, hundreds of people working to mobilise the poor have been murdered, or suddenly disappear.10:10
Poster of Karen and Sherlyn at rally 10:30
PERCY: The deaths and disappearances have brought the families and friends of the victims together, seeking solace and justice. 10:38
Mrs Empeno meets regularly with Erlina Cadapan, Sherlyn's mother. 10:49
Singer at rally Song: I will look for you in the scream of a bullet 10:59
Concepcion and Erlina at rally PERCY: The victims' campaign has gained momentum since the release of a United Nations investigation implicating members of the military in the extrajudicial killings. 11:11
Song: I will ask around from thousands of hands 11:21
PERCY: The report also criticises the government of President Gloria Arroyo for failing to act. 11:25
SINGER: Justice for all victims of violence.
Crowd: Justice for all victims!...Justice! 11:39
Concepcion and Erlina weeping. Laying flowers at photos of missing Song: How can we cry out for justice 11:43
PERCY: The international attention only provides so much comfort for the Empeno and Cadapan families. 11:56
Erlina: Bring her back! 12:02
PERCY: They blame Major General Jovito Palparan. Hes been dubbed 'The Butcher' because of the high incidence of unexplained killings in the last three of his Command posts.12:07
He denies all knowledge of Karen and Sherlyn. 12:20
But he says there was military intelligence about two female NPA guerrillas operating in the area at the time. 12:25
Palparan: They may be students before, I dont know, but they were the ones who were actually dominating the locals there. 12:34
Palparan. Super: Major General Jovito Palparan(Retired)Theyre the ones taxing people, theyre the ones intimidating people and they have firearms, and the people are saying that they are the ones who are involved in the killings of a number of people in that area. 12:47
PERCY: And you think that could have been Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan? 13:04
Palparan: Perhaps, perhaps they are the ones they are looking for. 13:07
PERCY: The military spends of lot of its time and resources looking for the Communists and trying to root out the New People's Army from rural areas. 13:11
Kakilala shows poster Kakilala: This is Lady Amazon, we call it the NPA who was killed by her own comrades. 13:24
She was a former student of Central Luzon State University. 13:30
PERCY: Lt Colonel Joey Kakilala is leading the fight against the NPA in Central Luzon province. The Armed Forces of the Philippines says it's being blamed for killings that are part of an internal purge by the communists. 13:33
Kakilala: Our conscience is clear that the AFP would not tolerate all of these kinds of actions, such as extrajudicial killings. 13:48
Mariano. Super: Brigadier General Manuel Mariano(Asst Commander, )7th Infantry Division, AFP Mariano: There is no such thing as extrajudicial killings insofar as military operations is concerned. It is only done by the communist terrorists. 13:56
Kakilala visits villagers PERCY: Across the country, the military is trying to win the "hearts and minds" of the people. Colonel Kakilala says the program is working in this village, which was once home to more than a thousand supporters of the NPA. 14:09
Kakilala: Going to school? Spell cat C-A-T Good boy. 14:25
PERCY: Colonel Kakilala was under the command of General Palparan until the General's retirement last year. 14:30
Palparan
PERCY: Have you ever been involved in extrajudicial killings
or any of these abductions or disappearances of leftist activists? 14:37
Palparan: No I am at the level of, when I was accused of these I was already brigade commander, then division commander. There are three or five levels down that are doing ah tactical level for activities. 14:46
PERCY: Did you ever Palparan: I provided command, I provide the direction, but not tactical activities. 15:10
PERCY: Did you ever order your subordinates to engage in extrajudicial killings 15:20
Palparan: No.PERCY: or disappearances, or abductions?Palparan: No, no, I know its illegal. I know its illegal. No.15:25
PERCY: And then this extraordinary admission that he could have inspired civilians to kill. 15:30
Palparan: I might have encouraged or inspired people to take the law into their own hands. But that is not intentional. I was only encouraging them to fight or to defend themselves. 15:35
Zuno. Super: Jovencito ZunoChief State Prosecutor
Zuno: He was not able to control his men in some areas in the country where they were assigned. And I would say in one of his testimonies he said that I did not really order my men to kill, I only inspired them. 15:47
Zuno walks to office PERCY: Jovencito Zuno is the top prosecutor in the Philippines. He served with the Melo commission, a government inquiry into the extrajudicial killings. 16:11
Zuno: The superior officer cannot escape responsibility or liability for any acts committed by his men within his supervision. 16:16:22
Zuno PERCY: The President is the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines surely she has to take some responsibility? 16:33
Zuno: When these extrajudicial killings reached that alarming point, she created the taskforce that would investigate these extrajudicial killings and this Melo Commission. 16:40
State of the Union Address. Super: June 2006 MC: Her Excellency Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the President of the Republic of the Philippines. 16:56
PERCY: While the President has finally taken steps to investigate the deaths that have escalated since shes been in power 17:08
SUPER:Gloria ArroyoPresident. The Philippines Arroyo: In the harshest possible terms, I condemn political killings 17:16
PERCY: she has also twice promoted the man militant groups call The Butcher -- and publicly praised him. 17:24
Arroyo: In the 7th Division area of responsibility, Jovito Palparan has come to grips with the enemy. He would not give up until the people are freed from the night of terror and arise to a new dawn of justice and freedom. 17:30
Palparan PERCY: Do you think the communist party should be illegal? 18:04
Palparan: Yes, because they are doing a lot of illegal things. They're actually destroying communities, families people, individuals, organisations, institutions. They have to be out. They have to disappear. 18:07
PERCY: But do you accept that there is a difference between the people who are waging the armed battle, and those who are unarmed, who may just be students who are trying to advise farmers of their rights, theyre trade unionists trying to advise workers of their rights? 18:28
Palparan: There is a difference somehow in the approach. But eventually its the same, because they are talking to people, assisting them for the purpose of inviting them to revolution. 18:44
Military on patrol PERCY: The constant threat of a military coup means Mrs Arroyo cant take too strong a line against her military leaders. And just last year, the President declared an "all out war" against the Communists, saying the insurgency had to be crushed within two years. 19:06
Concepcion: It's like martial law, it's the same as martial law under the Marcos regime. 19:24
Concepcion I hate the military as I hate the government. Because they are not really giving us security. They are a threat. 19:32
Family dinner Concepcion: That was the last time we were together. 19:46
PERCY: The Empeno family is doing its best to continue their lives. But where once music filled their home, there is now a heaviness and a sadness here. 19:49
Karen's parents refuse to believe what a government minister told them -- that their daughter was a senior cadre with the
New People's Army. 20:00
Oscar Empeno During our visit, Oscar Empeno, revealed his own past, as a member of the underground resistance movement fighting the Marcos regime. 20:08
Oscar: I was one of the organisers of the FIST - the Financial Intermediary Society Against Tyranny. That was martial law time. So if I can no longer see my daughter I have to go back to that time. 20:19
Family dinner PERCY: Karen Empeno was heavily influenced by her father's radical background. 20:41
Oscar: She knows too much. 20:46
PERCY: About what? 20:48
Oscar Oscar: The graft and corruption. The disparity in the lives of the Filipino people. Those are just two. And she knows the revolution. She has read from those books. She was inspired by it. 20:49
Sunset/Military installation Music 21:11
PERCY: The Empenos have held meetings with politicians, and written letters to public officials including the President. They're pursuing a court case against the military. Still they don't know where their daughter is or if anyone with any authority is trying to find out what happened to her.21:17
But they hope and pray that they'll see her again. 21:39
Concepcion Concepcion: Im appealing that she will be surfaced the earlier or immediately. The government should not be waiting for so long. 21:45
Photo. Karen Oscar: They have to surface her, and arraign her and charge her with treason, rebellion 21:58
Oscar so we will know if shes still alive or shes dead - just produce her body, dead or alive. 22:06
PERCY: What would you like to say to her? 22:17
Oscar: Just sing her favourite song. 22:20
[sings]: You help children of the farmerDont worry about the pain in your heartNobody else can fix the situation 22:25
Oscar but you, Its in your hands.Thats it! 22:38
Reporter: Karen PercyCamera: David LelandEditor: Simon
BrynjolffssenProducer: Marianne Leitch Research: Kate Gunn 22:4623:00