THE Karapatan-Southern Mindanao Region (Karapatan-SMR) condemned the attack on human rights lawyer Tony La Viña by former general Antonio Parlade Jr., citing how this constitutes “red tagging” and endangers the legal profession.
Karapatan-SMR deputy secretary-general Grecian Asoy said that despite being reprimanded by the Ombudsman in the August 2023 ruling, Parlade has once again made accusations against the Mindanaoan lawyer La Viña.
“To vilify a lawyer for representing marginalized sectors and advocating civil liberties is an assault not only on his person but on the entire legal profession and on the people’s right to counsel,” he said in a statement on January 2, 2026.
This comes after Parlade wrote on his Facebook page entitled “Who is Atty. Tony La Viña and why he loves the CPP so much,” allegedly claiming that La Viña defended activists because he is sympathetic to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).
Parlade served as the commander of the Southern Luzon Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and was a former spokesperson for the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) in 2021.
Asoy stressed that La Viña is a respected lead practitioner and educator who upholds the Philippine Constitution and the ethical duty of lawyers to defend human rights.
He said that Karapatan-SMR stands in solidarity with La Viña and all victims of red-tagging. He also called on the Bar and the Bench to uphold human rights, civil liberties, and the safety of people who work for justice.
Karapatan-SMR said that the online statements of Parlade, which malign a human rights and environmental advocate, are reckless and irresponsible.
Asoy stressed that maliciously branding rights defenders as enemies of the state places their lives, liberty, and security at risk, saying that Parlade’s statements have undermined the Supreme Court ruling in Deduro v. Vinoya, which recognizes that red tagging is a threat to life, liberty, and security.
Karapatan-SMR once again renewed its call to end red-tagging and to hold Parlade and others accountable for endangering people who speak truth to power.
At the same time, the Union of Peoples’ Lawyers in Mindanao (UPLM) also condemned the recent post of Parlade. UPLM said that the attack on La Viña is a direct assault on the right to counsel and the independence of the legal profession.
“This not only intimidates lawyers but undermines the entire justice system, deterring legal professionals from taking on cases involving activists, dissenters, and the marginalized,” UPLM wrote in their statement. RGP