The Butcher' follows suit, files COC for senator

MANILA, Philippines – After winning a seat in Congress as a representative of a party-list group, controversial Ret. Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr. filed his certificate of candidacy for senator at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office in Intramuros, Manila.

Palparan, notoriously dubbed as the "Butcher” by some militant groups for allegedly having a hand in several extra-judicial killings, arrived this afternoon at the Comelec office to formalize his senatorial bid.

Palparan is a sitting congressional representative of the Bantay party-list. He said one of the considerations in filing his COC is when militant party-list representatives filed their respective COCs.

"I will campaign against the left-leaning parties," he said, noting that the Bantay will continue to exist in the Lower House.

The former military man has been linked by peasant and workers groups to several forced disappearances of militant group members. Earlier, Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo filed his COC for senator.