Palace says renewed RevGov calls 'better off ignored'
MANILA, Philippines — Calls from a group led by retired general Antonio Parlade Jr. are better off ignored by the public, the Palace said Tuesday when sought for comment on the sudden gathering.
In an advisory sent to reporters over Viber earlier that morning, the Quezon City Police District through its public information office confirmed that a group of around 100 led by Parlade — of National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict fame — were gathering at the People Power Monument along EDSA.
According to the QCPD, the event was a "dialogue regarding issues and concerns of the government about [the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army.]
The police district added that the event's theme was: "We support Duterte; Revolutionary government na; Anti-corruption on COMELEC; Abolition of walang kwentang (worthless) Partylist!"
It added that among those present at the supposed dialogue were media personality Vivian Velez, along with "different sector leaders of different provinces." The latter were not named, and it is unclear which sectors they were representing.
In a briefing aired over state-run People's Television, Presidential Communications Secretary and Acting Presidential Spokesperson Martin Andanar said that Parlade's actions are part of his "guaranteed freedom of speech and expression."
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana also directed the Armed Forces of the Philippines to ignore the calls of its former Southern Luzon Commander.
This is not the first time a group backing President Rodrigo Duterte called for a revolutionary government to be established.
Quezon City Police District confirms a group of around 100 led by retired general Antonio Parlade Jr. are gathering at the People Power Monument along EDSA today. @PhilstarNews
— Franco Luna (@francoIuna) March 15, 2022
Photos courtesy of QCPD pic.twitter.com/xoiuzSuEZY
To recall, an estimated 300 members of the Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte-National Executive Coordinating Committee — a nationwide volunteer group that propelled Duterte to the presidency in 2016 — assembled at the Clark Freeport in August 2020 to call for a "revolutionary government" to be headed by the president himself until 2022.
Parlade at the time rejected the group's calls.
“I am not very familiar with that group, but I don’t believe in a revolutionary government. We have existing mechanisms. We have a Constitution that is very robust,” he told members of a panel of the Commission on Appointments during a Senate hearing.
“I guess this group is only dissatisfied with the slow pace that we are dealing with these reforms because of some constitutional constraints. I still believe that we need to support reforms in the government, and this can be done through legislation...I believe that we have to go back to the Constitution and determine whether these actions are allowed by the Constitution."
The MRRD-NECC has since gone on to back the presidential campaign of Manila City Mayor and Aksyon Demokratiko standard-bearer Isko Moreno.
Parlade is best known for his red-tagging rampage during his stint as spokesperson of the NTF-ELCAC, during which he baselessly accused various personalities, including leftist lawmakers and celebrities, as being part of the armed communist rebellion.
Red-tagging, or linking activist groups to the communist armed struggle, is a common tactic of government agencies and officials and has been used against environmentalists, human rights workers and journalists regardless of ideology.
The UN Human Rights Office, the Commission on Human Rights and other rights advocates have long pointed out that the practice is dangerous and has been institutionalized in the Philippines.
— with reports from The STAR/Alexis Romero
- Latest
- Trending
