Parlade’s statements vs. challengers of anti-terror law just his personal opinion —OSG

The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) on Tuesday said that Army Lieutenant General Antonio Parlade Jr.'s statements against the petitioners of the anti-terror law should not be viewed as the position of the government.

Parlade is one of the spokespersons for the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

The petitioners earlier complained to the Supreme Court (SC) about Parlade’s Facebook post last January in which the military official warned that “very soon, blood debts will be settled. The long arm of the law will catch up on you, and your supporters.”

The SC later directed the OSG to explain Parlade’s statement.

“Since he is a citizen of the Republic of the Philippines he has the freedom of expression,” Assistant Solicitor General Marissa Dela Cruz-Galandines said when asked by Associate Justice Amy Lazaro Javier during oral arguments about Parlade’s comments linking some personalities or groups to the communist movement.

“However since this is not the official position of the government I believe the OSG in its comment stated that the position taken by General Parlade on social media is not the official position of the AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines] nor of the NTF-ELCAC and was not meant to violate the petitioners’ constitutional rights,” she added.

Asked if she had the authority to disavow statements issued by Parlade, Galandines said National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. was in a better position to respond.

Esperon is the vice chairperson of the NTF-ELCAC.

Senators have opposed Parlade’s stint as spokesperson, arguing that his appointment violated the constitutional prohibition on designating an active member of the armed forces to a civilian position in the government.

Esperon has disputed this, saying that the position of spokesperson is not a plantilla position.

Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, meanwhile, asked the OSG if it is wrong to be a communist. 

“And your answer should be no. It should not be wrong to be communist. Every person is entitled to their political view and to be communist does not mean CPP-NPA (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army). To be communist means you believe in the writings of Karl Marx, the Communist Manifesto, and the Communist International,” he said.

“Are we going after those that we deem leftist simply because we feel them as leftists? What if I told you I am socialist, am I leftist? What if I told you that in the heart of my heart I believe that the ownership of means of production should be in the hands of workers? Am I communist?”

Galandines replied, “We should never punish an ideology, Your Honor.”

She reiterated that the government is not engaged in red-tagging.

“The government does not have a policy of red-tagging,” she said.

“Before the government tags a person or an organization, government does a comprehensive, detailed and careful evaluation of facts as opposed to red-tagging Your Honor, which we submit is not a government policy.”

The SC will continue the oral arguments on Wednesday. — BM, GMA News