No hard feelings, Parlade to militants on CA dismissal of writs

MANILA -- No hard feelings.

This, according to Major General Antonio Parlade, Jr., of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF ELCAC) as he welcomed the Court of Appeals (CA) ruling released Friday dismissing the writs of Amparo and habeas data filed by Karapatan, Rural Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP), and Gabriela on the ground that there is no substantial evidence to prove the extrajudicial killing, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrest, malicious prosecutions and defamations being claimed by the militant groups against the government.

He said, though, the security sector will try to its best to protect members of Karapatan and allies against the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) who have no qualms of attacking its own and placing the blame on the government so that it will be placed in a bad light.

The same level of protection and security will also be given to the RMP and Gabriela despite their allegations against the government and the security sector.

“We laud the ruling of the Court of Appeals as it correctly dismissed Karapatan’s petition for the issuance of the privilege of the Writ of Amparo and (Habeas) Data. And, despite these baseless cases hurled against us, the Security Sector, true to our mandate, will continuously pursue the protection of Karapatan’s members, especially now that we see again the treacherous hands of the CPPNPA (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army), in attacking their own members, if only to put the blame on the government,” said Parlade, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Deputy Chief-of-Staff for Civil-Military Operations, in statement Saturday.

The petitioners earlier claimed that their rights to life, liberty, and security are being violated by the government through harassment and red-tagging.

Named as respondents in this petition were President Rodrigo R. Duterte, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, AFP chief-of-staff Gen. Benjamin Madrigal, and 10 others, including Parlade. Nothing new

He said there is nothing new with the CPP-NPA turning against its own sympathizers and members for the sake of using these atrocities to discredit the government.

“We already warned them before of the cunning ways of the NPAs, as narrated in a video by former rebel priest Father Balweg,” he said.

He added that the same admission was made by the CPP in its anniversary statements published in May last year, where they tortured and killed more than 950 of their own CPP cadres, and later blamed the government.

The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

Adding insult to injury is that these communist rebels even had the gall to place 625 of brutal killings in the list of “List of Desaparecidos” which they submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council UNHRC Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances, he added.

“The same treachery in their ranks was done during the Plaza Miranda bombing of LP (Liberal Party) allies, which put the blame on Marcos government. The same is true with Sagay, Hacienda Luisita, Sorsogon, Naga, and many more incidents,” Parlade said.

Now that militant groups have been proven wrong by the courts, he expressed hope that the former will not take it as another injustice their your part.

“We anticipate that this shall be another issue you will exploit to project a government of tyrants,” he said. Help gov’t Instead of griping about the CA ruling, Parlade said members of militant groups should help the government in exposing the evil deeds of the communist rebels who managed to infiltrate their ranks.

He added that this is not that difficult to do as many staffers of Karapatan, RMP, and Gabriela have already decided to cooperate with the government and executed damning statements on what these underground cadres are doing to aid the NPAs.

“We ask you instead, to cooperate with us in exposing some more the evil deeds of those who infiltrated your ranks. Many among your staff at Karapatan, RMP, and Gabriela have already come out and executed statements about what the underground cadres in your ranks have done to aid the NPAs, and drag you with them into their terrorist and violent actions,” he added.

He also clarified that the NTF ELCAC is not only about neutralizing and pursuing the armed insurgency but also includes unifying the vulnerable and exploited sectors and taking legal actions against the CPP-NPA supporters who continue to destroy the Philippines and its democratic society.

Executive Order (EO) 70 was signed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte on December 4, 2018. The EO created the NTF ELCAC, chaired by the President, “to synchronize the utilization of the government’s instrumentalities of power with the capabilities of private sector stakeholders to finally end the 50-year long deceit, lies, and atrocities committed by the communist terrorists against the people.”

“It includes pursuing legal action to your comrades who continue to destroy our society and paint a bad picture in your advocacies like defending human rights and the poor. It’s about providing services to the most marginalized like our IP (Indigenous Peoples’) brothers and farmers,” he added.

Since this fight is for the entire nation, Parlade urged all Karapatan, RMP, Gabriela members and their allies to unite with the government to isolate those who do not want genuine peace.

“We are all together in this effort. Let’s collaborate rather than fight and isolate those who do not want genuine peace amongst your ranks. For 50 years you have been exploited by the CPP-NPANDF (National Democratic Front). It’s time you wake up,” he said.