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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Sobejana 'to the rescue' as Senate panel calls for Parlade's exit from NTF-ELCAC

Sobejana 'to the rescue' as Senate panel calls for Parlade's exit from NTF-ELCAC

Published Mar 12, 2021 06:09 pm

Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr., the embattled commander of the Southern Luzon Command (SoLCom), received a big-time morale boost amid calls from a Senate committee to have him ousted from the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

This, after no less than Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) threw his support behind Parlade.

Last March 10, the Senate National Defense and Security Committee recommended that Parlade be removed as the spokesperson of the NTF-ELCAC, a civilian post. The panel said his continued stay is a violation of Article 16, Section 5 of the Philippine Constitution, which prohibits any active member of the AFP from holding a civilian position in the government.

Parlade is often criticized for making controversial statements, which human rights advocates brand as equivalent to red-tagging.

"Gen. Parlade's statements to the public have the go signal from the Strategic Communications Committee of the NTF-ELCAC, which means that he secured proof or evidence before he releases it. We support not only the statements of Gen. Parlade but also the goals and objectives of the NTF-ELCAC," Sobejana said on Friday, March 12.

On Thursday, Parlade once again raised eyebrows after he tagged as communists the nine individuals who were killed in the joint military and police operations in Calabarzon (Region 4A) last March 7.

But Sobejana kept distance on the particular matter, saying he would have to talk to Parlade and ask for the basis of the latter's statements.

"I need to talk to him because I don't want to make half-baked statements. In every statements that he make, he always share some data with me. But this time, we have yet to meet or talk. In due time, we will talk about that," he said.

Human rights groups said that those killed were activists, while police claimed that they were communists who allegedly engaged security forces in a shootout.

As spokesperson of the NTF-ELCAC, Parlade serves as a key official in raising public awareness on the government's efforts to curb communist insurgency--a problem that has persisted in the country for over 50 years now.

The military official has received flak in the past for "red-tagging" celebrities, lawmakers, and activists, among others.

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