Lacson: Parlade’s ‘careless, insensitive remarks’ not helping terror law
MANILA, Philippines — In accusing a journalist of “aiding the terrorists by spreading lies,” Army Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr. did a disservice to the Anti-Terrorism Act as it faces constitutional challenge in the Supreme Court, according to Sen. Panfilo Lacson, a champion of the assailed law.
Parlade’s threat against Inquirer.net’s Tetch Torres-Tupas for reporting on the allegations of two Aeta men branded as terrorists under the new law “surely does not help the government to convince the magistrates of the Supreme Court to rule in its favor,” the chair of the Senate national defense and security panel said on Friday.
“Coming at a time when the solicitor general is defending the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 against 37 petitions, particularly on the issue involving ‘over-breadth doctrine’ among others, such remark from a high-ranking military official is uncalled for and totally unnecessary,” said Lacson, a principal author of the law, which was signed by President Duterte in July 2020.
Lacson criticized Parlade for being “careless and insensitive” in branding as “fake” and “propaganda” Tupas’ story about the two Aeta men who filed their own petition against the Anti-Terrorism Act on Feb. 2, the first day of oral arguments on the law in the Supreme Court.
The two, Japer Gurung and Junior Ramos—the first to be accused of violating the law—said they were illegally arrested and tortured by Army soldiers from the 73rd Division Reconnaissance Company in August last year in Zambales province. Gurung said he was made to eat his own feces as he was being forced to admit that he was a member of the New People’s Army (NPA). A military spokesperson had denied their allegations.
‘Propaganda’
In a post on his Facebook page on Wednesday, Parlade, chief of the Southern Luzon Command and the spokesperson for the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac), implied that Tupas’ story was obtained from the US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) and media group Kodao, which he both tagged as “propaganda machines” of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).
“Congratulations for a sloppy work Tetch Torres-Tupaz (sic) of Inquirer.net. You did not even bother to check the side of the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) and gov’t if what you are reporting is true or FAKE. Propagandista. No such thing happened. That unit is not even there but in Davao,” Parlade said in his post.
He wrongly suspected that Tupas’ story was based on HRW and Kodao reports because it was directly taken from the two men’s accounts in their petition to the high tribunal.
During Tuesday’s oral argument, even Associate Justice Marvic Leonen cited the arrest of the two men as a possible “actual case” that the high court should discuss.
The general also erred about the deployment of the Army unit in Davao. In fact, it was in Zambales and lost one sergeant in a clash with the NPA on Aug. 21, 2020, according to the 7th Infantry Division under which it operated.
Backlash from media
Responding to a netizen’s question about whether charges could be filed against Tupas, Parlade replied: “Aiding the terrorists by spreading lies? Puede (Possible).”
His comments sparked outrage and media groups strongly rebuked Parlade.
In a statement, Inquirer.net, a sister company of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, said it “takes vigorous exception to the apparent Red-tagging of our reporter and expresses alarm over Parlade’s attempt to sow fear, stifle dissent and curtail her right to make truthful and objective reports.”
The Justice and Court Reporters Association (Jucra) to which Tupas belonged demanded an apology from Parlade, which the general rejected.
Avoidable issue
Lacson, in a statement, reiterated his position that the antiterror law was not intended to curtail civil liberties as alleged by its critics.
“There are basic freedoms that remain to be protected and upheld under Republic Act No. 11479, foremost is the freedom of speech or expression,” he said.
Lacson said Parlade “keeps opening new fronts for the defense establishment to address which could have been avoided but for his careless and insensitive remarks.”
“At a time unity is needed against threats such as terrorism, actions that threaten to divide are the last thing our country needs,” he said.
Parlade earlier threatened petitioners against the antiterror law that their “day of judgment” had come and “very soon, blood debts will be settled.”
That threat was reported to the Supreme Court last week by retired Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio and former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, and it was cited as one of the dangers in the law by former Solicitor General Jose Anselmo Cadiz.
SC should take note
Fides Lim, spokesperson for Kapatid, an organization of families of political prisoners, on Friday said the Supreme Court should not ignore Parlade’s action of brandishing the antiterror law against journalists.
“The threats of Parlade against Tupas … should concern all of us,” Lim said. “It is dreadful that a military officer cannot even distinguish facts from falsehood because he is too steeped in his own prejudices and paranoia that he wishes to entrap us all in.”
“The Supreme Court should take judicial notice of Parlade’s diatribes because that, in a nutshell, is the very nature of [this law]—arbitrary, accusatory, persecutory and conclusory despite utter lack of evidence,” Lim said.
Sack him next
Opposition lawmakers called on Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana to sack Parlade for making baseless and erroneous public statements.
“Like [Armed Forces deputy chief of staff for intelligence, Maj. Gen. Alex] Luna, Lorenzana should show Parlade the door,” Sen. Francis Pangilinan said on Twitter on Thursday.
Luna was relieved of his duties over a discredited social media post listing names of some University of the Philippines graduates supposedly recruited by the CPP and falsely stating they were killed or captured in anti-insurgency operations.
Bayan Muna Rep. Ferdinand Gaite said Parlade had been “emboldened so much by being forgiven for his repeated blunders” and “it must stop.”
“The regime has been denying that the law would be used to stifle dissent, free speech and the free press, but Parlade’s statements belie that,” he said.
“They will use it against activists, against human rights defenders, unionists, indigenous peoples, farmers, students, professors, journalists, anyone that they see as an enemy. And you don’t need to do much to be considered an enemy, even a journalist who’s just doing her job can easily be considered one,” Gaite said. —WITH REPORTS FROM MARLON RAMOS AND JULIE M. AURELIO
