Lacson: Parlade needs prudence, self-discipline to avoid compromising mission

Armed Forces' Southern Luzon Command chief Lieutenant General Antonio Parlade Jr. needs to be cautious with his statements so as not to compromise his mission, Senator Panfilo Lacson said Tuesday.

Chairing the Senate committee on national defense, Lacson said he sees Parlade as an AFP officer who is "dedicated" to fulfill the task of ending the half-century-old insurgency problem in the country.

"That being said, his only fault is that he over-analyzes and over-talks, with some of his public statements threatening to affect his mission," the senator said in a statement.

"The purpose of surveillance work is defeated when the subject becomes aware that he is being tailed. Maybe a little prudence and self-discipline on Lt. Gen. Parlade's part will help," he added.

Lacson, a former chief of the Philippine National Police, made this assessment after Parlade revealed that former Bayan Muna Representative Neri Colmenares and members of the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives are under surveillance for being "card-bearing" members of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

Nonetheless, Lacson underscored that under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 which he sponsored in the Senate, only the court can proscribe a group like the CPP-NPA as a terrorist organization.

Parlade was recently slammed by militant groups and personalities after he warned celebrities who were advocating for women's rights of the danger of keeping ties with Gabriela Women's Party, which he claims to be a front of the communist rebels.—LDF, GMA News