Rights groups: SC reversal of conviction of Willem Geertman's killer may be a prelude to acquittals of other EJK perpetrators
KARAPATAN Public Information
JOINT PRESS RELEASE
10 September 2025
Reference: Cristina Palabay, KARAPATAN secretary general, 09173162831
Ofelia Balleta, Hustisya secretary general
KARAPATAN Public Information Desk, 09189790580
Rights groups: SC reversal of conviction of Willem Geertman's killer may be a prelude to acquittals of other EJK perpetrators
KARAPATAN and Hustisya, an organization of families and friends of victims of extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations, condemn the reversal by the Supreme Court of the conviction of Marvin Nuguid for the extrajudicial killing of Dutch missionary Willem Geertman on July 3, 2012, saying it may be a precursor of reversals of the convictions of others accused of heinous crimes against activists.
Nuguid had been identified by witnesses as one of the assailants who had entered Geertman’s office Alay Bayan Inc. in San Fernando, Pampanga to kill him and escape aboard a motorcycle driven by a third suspect. Geertman had spent over four decades working for environmental protection and land reform in rural communities, especially in Central Luzon.
“This reversal is alarming, considering that it is not often that we secure convictions of human rights violators in the lower courts,” said Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay. “The convictions of three other human rights violators—Jovito Palparan, Rafael Cordova and Reygine Laus—are currently on appeal, and if reversals become the norm, it would be a grave injustice to the victims and a stark demonstration of impunity.”
Palparan, a former general, and nicknamed “The Butcher,” was convicted on September 17, 2018 for the kidnapping and serious illegal detention of University of the Philippines students Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan and sentenced to reclusion perpetua. Karen and Sherlyn had been abducted in Hagonoy, Bulacan on June 26, 2006. With Palparan’s conviction having been affirmed by the Court of Appeals, his case is now pending before the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, he receives special treatment at the national penitentiary where he is held at the minimum security compound and has been allowed to be interviewed by the media.
On the other hand, Cordova and Laus, who first claimed to be civilians but turned out to be active duty intelligence officers of the 61st IB of the Philippine Army, were convicted on April 18, 2022 for the extrajudicial killing of Bayan Muna coodinator Benjamin Bayles on June 14, 2010 in Himamaylan City. Their convictions are under review by the Court of Appeals.
“We urge these appellate courts to stand by the decisions of the lower courts and uphold the convictions of Palparan, Cordova and Laus, who have been pronounced guilty of some of the most heinous crimes in recent memory,” said Hustisya secretary general Ofelia Balleta. “We hope that the reversal of the conviction of Wilhelm Geertman’s killer does not signal a vicious trend of injustice and impunity.”
Hustisya joined Aurora Santiago, Geertman’s common-law wife, and her counsels from the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers in filing a petition for review on the SC decision today, September 10, 2025.
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KARAPATAN is an alliance of human rights organizations and programs, human rights desks and committees of people’s organizations, and individual advocates committed to the defense and promotion of people’s rights and civil liberties. It monitors and documents cases of human rights violations, assists and defends victims and conducts education, training and campaign.