House minority leader to Parlade: File case vs. Makabayan Bloc or shut up

House Minority Leader Joseph Stephen Paduano on Monday told Lieutenant General Antonio Parlade, Jr. to "shut up" if he cannot prove in court that members of the Makabayan Bloc have ties with communist rebels.

"He better file a case in court or shut up if he has no evidence to show," Paduano said of Parlade, who earlier said that all Makabayan Bloc members and Bayan Muna chair Neri Colmenares are "under surveillance."

Paduano added that Parlade "sounds like a loose cannon and his words can do more harm than good to the government's anti-insurgency efforts."

"Unless hard evidence is presented against any member of the House, it is the duty of the entire institution to defend any lawmaker against baseless attacks," he added.

The six-member Makabayan Bloc is part of the minority bloc at the House of Representatives which Paduano now leads after former Minority Leader Bienvenido Abante Jr. transferred to the majority bloc.

In calling on Parlade to stop issuing public statements, Paduano reminded him of the advice by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana himself telling military officials to "keep quiet."

He added that under the Anti-Terrorism Law, being a communist does not necessarily constitute a crime unless one has committed a terroristic activity.

At the same time, Paduano warned Parlade that his words could be used against him as state surveillance is deemed illegal without a court order, as stated in the Anti-Terrorism Law itself.

"We all know that intelligence information gathering is part of military duty, but we cannot allow Parlade to sow fear or even threaten people he merely suspects to have communist links," Paduano said.

"Furthermore, intelligence works are highly confidential and should not be made public, contrary to what Parlade has been doing," he added.

Although the minority bloc is focused on working on measures targeting ordinary and poor Filipinos, Paduano said they "cannot simply ignore claims of harassment, especially if it involves our colleagues."

He said he is expecting the entire House of Representatives to take action on the matter.

The Makabayan Bloc earlier in the day condemned Parlade over his admission that they are under surveillance by the military.

"We reiterate our call to stop the red tagging of the Makabayan bloc, the harassment and surveillance of its officers and members because we are just defending human rights," they said. — BM, GMA News