Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said on Saturday, April 24, that he intends to file a resolution that would ask the Upper Chamber to formally condemn Lt. Gen. Antonio Paralde Jr. for calling senators "stupid".
In an interview over DWIZ radio, Drilon chided the military official as he defended the call of senators to realign the P19-billion anti-insurgency funds to the more urgent COVID-19 response.
Parlade is the spokesperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
"Ngayon lang ako nakarinig ng isang opisyal ng armed forces na sinasabing istupido ang mga senador (This is the first time that an official of the armed forces called senators stupid). That is very disrespectful at uncalled for," Drilon, a former Senate president, said as he stressed that they are mandated to ensure that government funds are properly spent.
While he is yet to ascertain support from his colleagues, the minority leader said Parlade’s derogatory statement has no place in a healthy debate.
The Senate, he maintained, should not be insulted.
"Kung hindi tayo magkasundo, huwag n’yo kaming tawaging istupido. Hindi naman kami stupid for calling for a realignment of their fund. Hindi kami stupid kung sasabihin naming na i-defund ang NTF-ELCAC. Kapangyarihan ng Kongreso ang mag-allocate ng pera sa ilalim ng Saligang Batas (If we don't agree on something, don't call us stupid. We are not stupid for calling for a realignment of their fund. We are not stupid for saying that we should defund the NTF-ELCAC. Congress has the power to allocate funds under the Constitution)," Drilon pointed out.
"Sa aking paniwala, ito po ay isang (I think this is a) behavior that we can censure. Sa aking tingin, talagang dapat ipakita ng Senado ang kanilang displeasure. Hindi dapat palampasin ito, otherwise masasanay (I think the Senate should really show its displeasure. We should not let this slide, otherwise, people will get used to calling the Senate names)," he told his colleagues.
“Such a display of arrogance beneath contempt should be censured,” Drilon added in a statement.
Last March, the Senate adopted the committee report calling for the removal of Parlade as NTF-ELCAC spokesman, citing the constitutional prohibition that active military members cannot hold civilian government posts.
Drilon raised the possibility that "somebody will go to court to question Parlade’s role" in the administration's anti-insurgency task force.
The Senate, he said, could also decide to defund the NTF-ELCAC due to the legal issue.
Senator Panfilo Lacson confirmed in a separate DWIZ interview Saturday that "there is a consensus" among senators to deny the task force's 2022 budget should it keep Parlade as its mouthpiece.
READ: https://mb.com.ph/2021/04/24/parlades-loose-lips-might-affect-ntf-elcacs-2022-budget-lacson/
In a television interview last Thursday, April 22, Parlade hit senators for pushing to defund the NTF-ELCAC over its red-tagging of community pantry organizers.
"I'll tell you, sila ang stupid kung ito ay binabawi nila. Pinirmahan nila ‘yong batas na ‘yan para maging serbisyo, ipagpatuloy ang programa ng gobyerno. Ngayon sasabihin nila na ide-defund nila ‘yung NTF-ELCAC (They are stupid if they will take away our fund. They signed the national budget to sustain the government's programs. Now, they are saying they will defund the NTF-ELCAC)," he said in a CNN Philippines interview.