Gag order on Parlade not the appropriate response, says Lacson
Published April 26, 2021 2:04pm
Solcom commander and NTF-ELCAC spokesperson Lieutenant General Antonio Parlade Jr. As far as Senator Panfilo Lacson is concerned, a gag order is not the appropriate response for Southern Luzon Command chief Lieutenant General Antonio Parlade Jr. amid his controversial remarks against community pantry organizers. In a statement on Monday, Lacson cited a law Article XVI, Sec. 5, Paragraph 4 of the 1987 Constitution that bars an active member of the military from being appointed or designated in any capacity to a civilian position in the government. Aside from being Solcom commander, Parlade is the spokesperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
April 26, 2021
National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. issued a gag order against 2 spokespersons of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) for them not to give statements related to community pantries.
NTF-ELCAC spokespersons Lt. General Antonio Parlade Jr. and Lorraine Badoy received criticisms for allegedly red-tagging or linking people behind community pantries to communist rebels.
“Lest it be misunderstood, they will desist (from) making statements on community pantries,” said Esperon, the vice-chair of NTF-ELCAC.
Recently, the social media page of the NTF-ELCAC and Quezon City Police District (QCPD) posted an accusation that the organizer of Maginhawa Community Pantry, Ana Patricia Non, was a member of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army.
The issue goes beyond the attacks issued by Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr. on the organizers of community pantries as well as against the members of the Senate. A temporary gag order is thus not the appropriate response.
In the first place, as an active member of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Parlade cannot be appointed or designated in any capacity to a civilian position in the Government, according to Art. XVI, Sec. 5, Paragraph 4 of no less than the 1987 Constitution.
That said, the AFP/DND should have heeded the call of the Senate to immediately recall him back to the AFP more than a month ago. He should be censured for dabbling in politics instead of just focusing on his inherent mission as commanding general of the Southern Luzon Command - that is, to fight threats such as terrorism and insurgency.
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April 25, 2021 LIEUTENANT General Antonio Parade Jr. and Presidential Communications Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy, spokespersons of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac), have been ordered to stop making any statements on community pantries.
National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., vice chairman of the task force, said Sunday, April 25, 2021, that he issued the gag order to emphasize that NTF-Elcac is not against community pantries.
He also said neither Parlade nor Badoy are against these.
“As commander of Solcom (Southern Luzon Command) covering three regions, Lt. Gen. Parlade does a lot of bringing basic services to disadvantaged or calamity-stricken barangays and residents therefore with no personal agenda but to help , and achieve his mandates and missions for AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) and therefore for NTF-Elcac where AFP is a member,” Esperon said in a message to reporters.