NEWLY assumed Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Cirilito Sobejana said military officials are not supposed to threaten people in order to gain their trust and be effective in their mandate.
“The reason for our existence is to serve the people and securing the land, no threatening among our constituents kasi paano kami magiging effective public servant if we threaten (them)...Unless they are identified as enemies of the state,” he said in an interview on Thursday afternoon, February 4, 2021, when he took the helm of the AFP.
Sobejana was asked for his reaction to the threat issued by Southern Luzon Command (Solcom) commanding officer Antonio Parlade Jr. to file charges against an Inquirer.net reporter.
Sobejana said he will talk to Parlade.
“We will discuss the matter together. Of course, he is part of the Armed Forces but for now designated siya as spokesperson (of NTF-Elcac) so reflective pa rin sa organization that is why we need to discuss all this things para ma-tresh out natin (ito),” said Sobejana.
NTF-Elcac stands for National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.
In a Facebook post, Parlade slammed Torres over her report about two Aetas who accused the military of torture.
“Congratulations for a sloppy work Tetch Torres-Tupaz of Inquirer.net. You did not even bother to check the side of the AFP and govt if what you are reporting is true or fake. Propagandista. No such thing happened. That unit is not even there but in Davao,” Parlade stated.
“Is this the reference of Tetch Tupas of Inquirer.net? All propaganda machines of the CPP? Mahiya ka naman reporter ka. Matagal na na establish na peke ang news na yan, ipinipilit mo pa sa report mo? Wow! Journalism at its best,” he added in another post referring to another article from the kodao.org.
When asked by a netizen if Tupas can be charged over her report, Parlade said, “Aiding the terrorists by spreading lies? Puede.”
He said he will not stop until Tupas as well as her news outfit respond.
The two Aetas, Japer Gurung and Junior Ramos, were arrested in August 2020. They claimed they were mauled by the state forces in an attempt to force them to confess that they were members of the New People’s Army. They insisted they were not.
They were the first to be charged with violation of Republic Act 11479 of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.
Their claims were part of the petition-in-intervention filed before the Supreme Court on February 2, which was Tupas’ source.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) and the Justice and Court Reporters Association (Jucra) condemned Parlade for his actions saying that Tupas was merely doing her job. Tupas is a member of Jucra.
"Torres-Tupas was simply writing about the fact that the petition was filed and recounting the allegations made in that petition. Parlade did not only red-tag Tupas, he also threatened her with prosecution just because she did her job, which all of us in Jucra do every day," Jucra said in a statement.
"As Parlade surely knows, providing material support to terrorists is a crime under Section 12 of the Anti-Terror Law, people accused of which are liable as 'principals' and punishable by at least 12 years up to life imprisonment," the group added.
They also expressed concern over Parlade’s insinuations that justice reporters are supporters of terrorists, putting their lives under threat.
"Jucra members also reported the Aetas' petition for intervention, based on the same Supreme Court pleading. Should we all wait for a threat from Parlade, too?" the group said.
They demanded an apology from the military official.
The NUJP said Parlade’s threat was actually one of the many reasons why the legality of the law is being questioned.
The group slammed the government for not taking action on Parlade’s behavior.
"The government has repeatedly issued reassurances that the law will not be used to stifle dissent or to clamp down on the press. But actions and statements by people like Parlade, who will be tasked with implementing the Anti-Terrorism Law, speak louder than those press statements," the NUJP said. (SunStar Philippines)