Don’t you see Parlade’s appointment is illegal? Drilon, Lacson tell Esperon

FILE PHOTO: Armed Forces Southern Luzon Command chief Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr. and concurrent spokesperson of the National Task Force to End Local Armed Conflict, the anti-insurgency body under the Office of the President. (Joseph Vidal/Senate PRIB File)

MANILA, Philippines — Two senators on Thursday urged the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Eclac) vice-chairman Hermogenes Esperon Jr. to review the 1987 Constitution when deciding whether or not controversial spokesman Antonio Parlade Jr. can continue working for a civilian organization.

Parlade drew backlash for his controversial remarks deemed as red-tagging, with many demanding his resignation or removal as the government’s counter-insurgency spokesperson.

Esperon, however, sought to wiggle out of that, saying Parlade would continue in his position throughout the review process of his designation based on Section 5 of Paragraph 4 of the Constitution.

It states that “No member of the armed forces in the active service shall, at any time, be appointed or designated in any capacity to a civilian position in the Government, including government-owned or controlled corporations or any of their subsidiaries.”

But Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon and Senator Panfilo Lacson said a reading of the charter is clear, leaving no room for debate as far as Parlade’s role in a civilian organization is concerned.

“Yes, Sec. Esperon should review, but insofar as Gen. Parlade is concerned, there are no options to consider,” Drilon said in a message shared to reporters when sought for a comment on the matter.

The minority leader, a former justice secretary, insists that Parlade’s designation as the spokesperson of the NTF-Elcac violates the Constitution.

“Moreover, that Gen. Parlade should be relieved of his designation as NTF-Elcac’s spokesperson is not a matter of Pres[ident] Duterte’s micro-managing the NTF-ELCAC as [Presidential spokesperson] Sec. [Harry] Roque claims, but a matter of compliance with the constitutional prohibition,” Drilon added.

Lacson, chair of the Senate national defense committee, advised Esperon to “just read” the constitutional provision “when he decides on the fate” of Parlade as NTF-Elcac spokesperson.

“He may not even need one week to review,” Lacson added.

The senator said the said provision is clear in saying that “[n]o member of the armed forces in the active service shall, at any time, be appointed or designated in any capacity to a civilian position in the Government, including government-owned or controlled corporations or any of their subsidiaries.”

“As such, Sec. Esperon and Malacañang’s legal staff can simply ask themselves the question: is NTF-Elcac a civilian office or a unit of the AFP?” Lacson went on.

“Meanwhile, Art. XVI, Sec. 3 of the Constitution also decrees that the armed forces shall be insulated from partisan politics. As such, ‘no member of the military shall engage, directly or indirectly, in any partisan political activity, except to vote,’” he added.

Earlier, 15 senators, including Drilon and Lacson, filed a resolution seeking to censure Parlade over his “derogatory” and “demeaning” remarks against some Senate members.

The resolution was triggered by Parlade’s “stupid” remark against senators who broached the idea of defunding the NTF-Elcac amid controversies surrounding it involving the red-tagging of community pantry operations.

Before this, the Senate had already recommended Parlade’s removal from his position of the task force’s spokesperson, citing the same provision in the Constitution regarding active AFP officers holding civilian posts.

EDV/abc