AFP Deputy Chief-of-Staff for Civil-Military Operations, Maj. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr. (File photo)
MANILA -- The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) clarified on Thursday that one of its ranking officials merely listened in a forum organized by progressive groups.
In an interview over Radyo Pilipinas, AFP spokesperson Marine Brig. Gen. Edgard Arevalo said Maj. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr. of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF ELCAC) went to the forum in his personal capacity.
"He went there just to listen, to know the topic and discussions, and ask questions," Arevalo said in Filipino.
Arevalo also belied claims that Parlade, who is also AFP Deputy Chief-of-Staff for Civil-Military Operations, went to the forum to spread more lies and disinformation.
Initially, Parlade was allowed to ask a question but he was immediately prevented from doing so and was asked to leave and escorted outside the venue.
Held at the Quezon City Sports Club, the forum, organized by the National Union of People's Lawyers and the Movement Against Tyranny, was about the alleged weaponization of the law and crackdown on dissenters. (PNA)
