MANILA, Oct 25 (dpa): The Philippines’ defence chief has urged security officials to be careful about tagging people as insurgents after an army general was slammed for issuing warnings against local celebrities for associating with leftist groups.
Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has called for a meeting with Lieutenant General Antonio Parlade Jr and other members of a national task force to end local communist armed conflict (NTF-ELCAC) to discuss the controversy, the defence department said Saturday.
"I am convening a meeting with these people,” Lorenzana said in a statement issued by the department. "We should talk closely ... We can’t be accusing anyone shotgun, accusing everybody. We must be selective and we must have evidence.”
"If you do not have evidence against a person, don’t talk about it, don’t go to media or Facebook,” he added. "Don’t accuse someone as leftist or a member of the (communist) New People’s Army. We should have evidence.”
Parlade was the subject of public outcry after he warned actress Liza Soberano and former Miss Universe Catriona Gray against associating with such leftist groups as Gabriela, a women’s rights organization.
"Liza Soberano, there’s still a chance to abdicate that group,” he said in a Facebook post. "If you don’t, you will suffer the same fate as Josephine Anne Lapira," he continued, referring to a young activist killed in a firefight between the military and communist rebels in 2017.
Human rights groups, social media users and politicians denounced Parlade’s statement, which they alleged was aimed at "red-tagging" Soberano, Gray and another actress Angel Locsin, or accusing them of being communist insurgents.
Parlade has denied red-tagging Soberano, and stressed he merely meant to warn her against associating with militants.- dpa
Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has called for a meeting with Lieutenant General Antonio Parlade Jr and other members of a national task force to end local communist armed conflict (NTF-ELCAC) to discuss the controversy, the defence department said Saturday.
"I am convening a meeting with these people,” Lorenzana said in a statement issued by the department. "We should talk closely ... We can’t be accusing anyone shotgun, accusing everybody. We must be selective and we must have evidence.”
"If you do not have evidence against a person, don’t talk about it, don’t go to media or Facebook,” he added. "Don’t accuse someone as leftist or a member of the (communist) New People’s Army. We should have evidence.”
Parlade was the subject of public outcry after he warned actress Liza Soberano and former Miss Universe Catriona Gray against associating with such leftist groups as Gabriela, a women’s rights organization.
"Liza Soberano, there’s still a chance to abdicate that group,” he said in a Facebook post. "If you don’t, you will suffer the same fate as Josephine Anne Lapira," he continued, referring to a young activist killed in a firefight between the military and communist rebels in 2017.
Human rights groups, social media users and politicians denounced Parlade’s statement, which they alleged was aimed at "red-tagging" Soberano, Gray and another actress Angel Locsin, or accusing them of being communist insurgents.
Parlade has denied red-tagging Soberano, and stressed he merely meant to warn her against associating with militants.- dpa
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