PALACE TO LET 'BUTCHER' LOOSE ON PUSHERS

MANILA, Philippines-A retired military general, called the "Butcher"
for his reputation as an alleged rights abuses in counter-insurgency,
is about to make a comeback in government to backstop a fresh
crackdown on drug traffickers.

Retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan is being eyed to sit in the
Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) and help draw up strategies in the war on
drugs, officials said Friday.

"We're studying what would be the immediate utilization for him. He's
being considered for the DDB. Maybe, he'll be one of the board
members,'' Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita told reporters in an
ambush interview.

He said that Palparan, with his experience in counter-insurgency,
would be "helpful'' in the anti-drug trafficking campaign.

Reports of Palparan's new posting surfaced a week after President
Macapagal-Arroyo proclaimed herself as "anti-drug czar'' amid a
bribery scandal over the dismissal of a drug case against the
so-called Alabang boys.

"If that is his image (butcher), then that will work well for us. It's
the drug traffickers who should fear him, not the public,'' DDB chair
Vicente "Tito'' Sotto III said in a phone interview.

If Palparan were appointed to the DDB, there should be no cause for
worry since he would be drawing up strategies for the board, and not
be directly involved in operations, he said.

'Butcher'

As a general, Palparan had been blamed for the killings,
disappearances and abductions of militants and activists in his areas
of operation, earning the monicker "Butcher.''

Until now, years after his retirement and unsuccessful crack at
politics in the 2007 mid-term elections through the party-list system,
he continues to be hounded by these charges.

In October 2008, the Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeals
findings linking Palparan to the abduction of farmer-brothers Raymond
and Reynaldo Manalo in Bulacan on suspicion of being communist rebels.

According to Sotto, Palparan's name was floated during last Tuesday's
Cabinet meeting with the DDB, where the President issued new
instruction to crack down on local chief executives with ties to drug
traffickers.

"Originally, they were talking about a PDEA (Philippine Drug
Enforcement Agency) post. But there was no reaction from PDEA. That's
when I informed them that there's a vacancy in the 17-man panel,'' he
said.

The vacancy has been there for over a year now, he
said.

Sotto said that once appointed, he would propose that Palparan
co-chair with PDEA the DDB's committee on supply reduction, whose main
job is to draw strategies on law enforcement.

"He will be a welcome addition to the committee. With his expertise,
he can help us formulate strategies against drug pushers. This will
pass through the board,'' he said. "I don't think he will be involved
in operations.''