Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 1) — AFP Southern Luzon Command chief Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade has resigned as spokesperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) weeks before his mandatory retirement.
President Rodrigo Duterte has accepted his resignation, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said on Thursday after confirming it with Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.
Parlade will retire from the military service on July 26 when he turns 56. Maj. Gen. Bartolome Bacarro, Army’s 2nd Infantry Division commander, will take over as the new commander of the Southern Luzon Command.
Parlade said he made the decision to quit the NTF-ELCAC after senators questioned the legality of an active military officer holding another office.
“I want to ease the pressure on the NTF ELCAC principals who are being questioned by legislators for designating me despite my being in the active service,” he said in a statement on Thursday.
While some senators lauded Parlade’s decision to quit, Bayan Muna Rep. Ferdinand Gaite said Parlade has to be made accountable for his actions.
“Resign na lang, wala nang pagpapanagot sa kanyang paghahasik ng kasinungalingan? (He just resigned, he will not be punished for spreading lies?) As spokesperson of NTF-ELCAC, Parlade used and abused his position to attack government critics, spread fake news, and red-tag activists and organizations,” Gaite said in a statement.
Parlade said leaving NTF-ELCAC does not mean he will stop his fight against insurgency and communist rebels.
“Even then, I want to assure our critics that I am not running away from this fight,” he added.
