Lawyers' group calls for sacking of red-tagging general Parlade
MANILA, Philippines — A group of lawyers and legal practitioners on Sunday called for the firing of Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr., Southern Luzon Command chief, for calling a journalist a propagandist for communist rebels over a story on petitioners against the Anti-Terrorism Act.
In a statement issued Sunday afternoon, the Concerned Lawyers for Civil Liberties called for the red-tagging general, spokesperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, to "not just be relieved from his command but from the armed services itself because his acts constitute as threats to the lives and security of many."
To recall, Parlade early this week posted a tirade on his Facebook account slamming Inquirer.net reporter Tetch Torres-Tupas, over her story on Aetas who said they endured torture from the military, and who filed a petition before the Supreme Court. The general said in a Facebook post and its succeeding comments that Torres-Tupas was liable for supporting "terrorist" propaganda, claiming that the torture never happened.
"This attack on members of the media for allegedly spreading 'lies' and propaganda against the terror law only further chills the people's right to freedom of expression and is an attack on our constitutional rights...It must be stressed that Gen. Parlade has been red-tagging perceived dissenters such as celebrities, church people, members of the opposition, activists and various schools and universities and even media for years now," the statement reads.
"Despite calls from concerned human rights advocates for [him] to stop his red-tagging, he has relentlessly and without remorse persisted in his distorted conception that those who do not agree with government policies are 'communists' and 'terrorists,'" it also said, slamming Parlade's statement implying "terrorist" agenda on opposers of the controversial Anti-Terror Act.
Media groups also hit Parlade for his pronouncements, pointing out that the Inquirer reporter was only doing her job by writing about the petition.
On more than one occasion, the NTF-ELCAC, which often accuses activist groups critical of the Duterte administration of being affiliated with the New People's Army, has been caught spreading disinformation.
Even the United Nations has acknowledged that the vilification of dissent and attacks against perceived critics of the Philippine government is being “increasingly institutionalized and normalized in ways that will be very difficult to reverse."
"We call for a stop to this wanton and unrestrained attack on the people through red-tagging, that has led to the death of the victims on many occasions," CLCL also said.
Parlade has hurled accusation after accusation against a litany of public figures in recent months, ranging from celebrities Liza Soberano and Catriona Grey to registered and elected lawmakers under the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives.
In no instance has he presented a cogent argument to back up his claim that the latter are affiliated with communist rebels, opting instead to reassert his claims each time.
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