MANILA, Philippines — Two lawmakers from the Bayan Muna party-list on Friday joined the calls to fire Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Southern Luzon Command chief Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr. after he threatened to sue INQUIRER.net reporter Tetch Torres-Tupas with the Anti-Terror Act for her report on Aetas who filed a petition before the Supreme Court.
“Parlade has been emboldened so much by being forgiven for his repeated blunders that he has no qualms in accusing anyone and everyone of being a terrorist. It must stop,” Bayan Muna Rep. Ferdinand Gaite said in a statement.
“The general is obviously too consumed by his anti-opposition hysteria that everyone who dares to talk is branded as an enemy,” he added.
This comes as Parlade, also the spokesman of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Insurgency (NTF-ELCAC), slammed Torres-Tupas for her report “Tortured Aetas seek SC help against anti-terror law.”
In a Facebook post, Parlade questioned whether the reporter’s sources were “propaganda machinery” of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). And in response to a comment on his post, the military official said that Torres-Tupas could be held liable for “aiding the terrorists by spreading lies.”
Parlade later drew sharp rebukes from media organizations and two senators— anti-terror law proponent Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson and Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan — for his remarks.
READ: Media orgs, groups blast Parlade for threat vs INQUIRER.net reporter
READ: ‘Careless, totally unnecessary,’ Lacson says of Parlade’s remarks vs reporter
READ: Pangilinan wants Parlade fired after remarks vs INQUIRER.net reporter
INQUIRER.net also said that it also upholds Torres-Tupas’ integrity.
READ: INQUIRER.net stands by its journo
Meanwhile, Gaite’s colleague and fellow Bayan Muna. Rep. Eufemia Culiamat said that she was bothered by the threats being thrown against journalists.
“Ang mga banta na ito sa hanay ng mga mamamahayag ay nakakabahala. Dapat na talagang patalsikin na sa kanyang posisyon ang tsismoso at malisyosong si Parlade dahil sa kanyang gawaing redtagging at pagkakalat ng mga kasinungalingan,” she said.
(These threats against journalists are worrying. It should be right to fire the gossip-monger Parlade because of his red-tagging spree and for spreading lies.)
“Ang laki ng budget ng NTF-ELCAC ngunit ginagamit lang nila ito sa red-tagging kaya marapat na buwagin na din talaga ito,” she added.
(The NTF-ELCAC was allocated with a big budget, yet it was only spent for red-tagging, so it is just right to abolish it finally.)
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