CHR hits use of Anti-Terror Law to threaten journalist

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) denounced on Monday the use of the controversial Anti-Terror Law to threaten a journalist over a story on the alleged military abuse of two Aetas.

“CHR condemns any attempt to use laws to curtail rights, as we are equally vigilant against assertions of freedoms that infringe upon the rights of others,” CHR spokesperson Jacqueline de Guia said in a statement.

Southern Luzon Command (SolCom) chief Lieutenant General Antonio Parlade Jr. came under fire last week for hurling threats at Inquirer.net reporter Tetch Torres-Tupas over a story that detailed two Aetas’ alleged abuse at the hands of state forces.

Parlade suggested that charges could be filed against Tupas for “aiding the terrorists by spreading lies.”

“We reiterate that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2020 has stressed concerns over ‘what appears to be ‘a pattern of intimidation’ of independent news sources,’ further aggravated by practices of red tagging and filing of legal cases against journalists,” the CHR said.

“It is even more concerning that similar pronouncements come from government officials and representatives—further aggravating the compounding human rights challenges on the ground,” it added.

Parlade’s threat against Tupas was cited in a manifestation challenging the Anti-Terror Law before the Supreme Court filed by retired SC Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio and his co-petitioners.

The High Court had previously been asked to turn its attention to Parlade’s “possible intimidation” of groups challenging the country’s new anti-terrorism law.

The SolCom chief was also roundly condemned for accusing several universities of being recruitment hotspots for communist and armed rebel groups.

Last year, Parlade also warned celebrities Liza Soberano and Catriona Gray against supporting the Gabriela Women’s Party.—AOL, GMA News