THE military’s anti-communist spokesperson on Tuesday, February 9, 2021, apologized for his statement accusing a journalist of aiding terrorists.
Lieutenant General Antonio Parlade Jr., spokesperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), said he never intended to “scare” Tetch Torres-Tupas, a reporter of inquirer.net.
“Just to assure Ms. Tupas that we mean no harm to her, yeah, I'd like to say sorry to those circulating in the news that I am fettering her. I am not,” he said in a television interview.
“Ang lumalabas parang natatakot na si Tetch for my statement. That is also because of how the media portays this issue. But personally, wala akong intensyon kay Tetch na ganyan ang maramdaman niya,” he added.
Parlade, who is also the commander of the Southern Luzon Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), had slammed Tupas over her report about the two Aetas who claimed they were tortured by the military personnel into admitting that they are members of the New People’s Army.
The testimonies of the two Aetas, Japer Gurung and Junior Ramos, were included in the petition-in-intervention filed before the Supreme Court on February 2, 2021 as the oral arguments against the constitutionality of the Republic Act 11479, or the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020. It was the source of Tupas’ report.
Parlade said Tupas can be charged for “aiding the terrorists by spreading lies.”
However, he clarified that he has no plans of actually filing charges against Tupas. He said he was willing to personally talk with Tupas and inquirer.net. (Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo / SunStar Philippines)