Parlade's remarks vs. Soberano, Gray 'tantamount to harassment, red-tagging' —CHR

As far as the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is concerned, Lieutenant General Antonio Parlade Jr.'s warning to celebrities Liza Soberano and Catriona Gray is "tantamount to harassment and red-tagging."

According to Commissioner Gwendolyn Pimentel-Gana, the CHR is "deeply concerned" with Parlade's remark on Soberano and Gray, who are both championing women's rights.

Parlade, commander of the military's Southern Luzon Command, has warned Soberano against keeping ties with Gabriela Women's Party, which the military has linked to communist rebels, after the actress participated in a webinar organized by the group.

Parlade gave the same warning to Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray, a vocal critic of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.

"Coming from a high-ranking military official, such statement is a form of suppression and restriction that serves to dissuade those who speak up for their beliefs and advocacies," Pimenel-Gana said in a statement.

In a Facebook post, Parlade claimed that Soberano could suffer the fate of UP student Josephine Lapira, who was killed in a firefight between government troops and suspected New People's Army (NPA) rebels in Nasugbu, Batangas back in November 2017.

Pimentel-Gana reminded Parlade that the Philippine Constitution guarantees the Filipino's freedom of thought, expression, and participation.

"Instead of attacking those who seek to empower the voiceless, perpetuating fear and instigating distrust among the populace against those who speak truth to power in defense of the weak and the voiceless, we are reminding government officials — especially the security sector tasked to serve and protect the people — to focus on promoting the rights and freedoms enjoyed by the people,” she said.

Parlade, who is also the spokesperson for the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), has denied red-tagging Soberano.   —KBK, GMA News