Ex-Army colonel yields after 14 years

A FORMER military officer accused of killing an anti-government protest leader has finally surrendered after 14 years on the run, the government said yesterday.

But 12 other ex-soldiers accused of involvement in the murder remain fugitives.

Rights activists say the case highlights a culture of impunity in the Philippines in which powerful figures easily avoid justice.

A court in May 1998 had ordered the arrest of retired Air Force colonel Eduardo “Red” Kapunan and 12 others for the 1986 murders of Rolando Olalia, head of the Bayan and Kilusang Mayo Uno groups that led anti-government street protests.

One suspect, former low-level soldier Desiderio Perez, surrendered in July.

Kapunan, now in his mid 60s, walked into a military camp in Panay on Friday and turned himself in, said Army Chief Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Bautista.

The suspect did not say where he hid or how he could spend more than 14 years on the run, Bautista told reporters.

However, Carlos Conde, Manila-based researcher for Human Rights Watch, said the case was typical of the government’s failure to hold to account military officials or other powerful figures accused of crimes.

“Kapunan has friends in high places, that’s a fact,” Conde told AFP.