General Parlade denies red-tagging, points to Joma Sison

Southern Luzon Command chief Lieutenant General Antonio Parlade Jr. denied on Monday that he red-tagged people and stressed that he was only exercising his duty to inform the public in his capacity as part of the Armed Forces.

Facing the Commission on Appointments, Parlade was asked by Senator Risa Hontiveros if he admits to accusing political leaders and journalists of having links to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), and if he thinks such action violates military rules.

"Did I red-tag these people? No. It was Jose Maria Sison. You can see all these organizations in the revolutionary web central, you can check the international league of people struggle, and all these organizations, Bayan, Bayan Muna, Anak-Pawis, all these organizations are there," he told the CA.

He added that former rebels and cadres also give tips to the military regarding "specific participation of these individuals as far as terrorism is concerned."

During the deliberations, Parlade also denied a claim that he red-tagged Rappler and its co-founder Glenda Gloria.

"I never said that Glenda Gloria was a communist. I was just saying that her line is way off, her comments cannot be accepted by the Armed Forces," he said.

'Time to speak up'

Parlade, also the spokesperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, said the AFP should be "political but non-partisan" in order to engage in healthy political discourses.

He underscored that the AFP must not keep mum regarding the activities of the CPP.

"It is the duty of your Armed Forces to inform the people about the activities of these organizations. It's now time for us to speak out, especially now that there's an Anti-Terror Act that defines the activities of terrorists from activists," Parlade said.

"Activism per se is welcome. We want that in a robust democratic country like us, but to be violent, in such a way we will be hurting other people and you'll destroy your country is a different matter," he added.

The AFP aims to defeat the propaganda machinery of its enemies, according to Parlade.

Hontiveros, nonetheless, maintained that the AFP should remain apolitical "because it must at all times bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution and uphold all Constitutional processes regarding the citizenry and the government."

Bayan Muna party-list Representative Carlos Zarate has filed a complaint against Parlade over his alleged red-tagging and partisan political activity.

In February, independent think tank IBON Foundation also filed an administrative complaint against him, Presidential Communications and Operations Office Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy, and National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon for alleged red-tagging. -NB, GMA News