Lorenzana defends Parlade’s appointment as NTF-ELCAC spox, Solcom chief

DEFENSE Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana on Thursday disputed senators’ claim that the appointment of Southern Luzon Command chief Army Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade as spokesman of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict( NT F-EL CAC) is un you are going to remove Gen. Parlade, then you might as well remove us there, the Armed Forces.”

“I do not see any violation there of the Constitution,” the defense chief said during the news briefing “Laging Handa” held live over the government television station.

He added: “It means the armed forces has nothing to do there, which is not true. We are the ones implementing it. The other agencies of the government are just doing supporting roles. The main effort is being led by the PNP [Philippine National Police] and the AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines],” he said, stressing there’s no violation of the Constitution in the concurrent appointment of Parlade as Solcom chief and spokesman of NTF-ELCAC.

The Senate on Wednesday adopted a committee recommendation to seek the replacement of the controversial Parlade, saying his designation violated a constitutional ban on active military officers holding civilian positions.

The recommended amendments to a report earlier issued by the defense and security panel on the red-tagging issue were introduced by Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who had earlier made clear his view that the NTF-ELCAC position of Lt. Gen. Parlade was working against the government’s efforts to secure peace and fight terrorism.

Parlade, Lacson pointed out, is part of the chain of command of the AFP as commander of Solcom.

The senator made the similar observation earlier at the Commission on Appointments hearing on the confirmation of new AFP chief, Lt. Gen. Cirilito E. Sobejana.

Lacson chairs the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, Unification and Reconciliation, which conducted hearings on the red-tagging issue and recently issued the committee report to which he presented three amendments on Wednesday as sought by some peers.

In seeking Parlade’s ouster from the NTF-ELCAC, Lacson stressed that the latter is a civilian unit and that the Constitution clearly prohibits AFP officers from holding positions there. He cited Section 5 (4), Art. XVI of the 1987 Constitution that states: “[4] No member of the armed forces in the active service shall, at any time, be appointed or designated in any capacity to a civilian position in the government, including governmentowned or -controlled corporations or any of their subsidiaries.”

The plenary approved the three recommended amendments offered by Lacson, including one seeking Parlade’s ouster from the NTF-ELCAC, which the lieutenant general is seen to have used as a bully pulpit to lash out at both the New People’s Army and activist groups alleged to be communist fronts.