Army Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade made a "clear threat" against an Inquirer.net journalist when he called her a "propagandist" on Facebook, former Senior Associate Justice Antonio Caprio told the Supreme Court on Saturday.
Carpio raised Parlade's posts about justice beat reporter Tetch Torres-Tupas in a manifestation the high tribunal as part of his ongoing opposition to the Anti-Terror Act.
Parlade's threats, according to Carpio, was an "obvious invasion of protected expressive rights" that was "possible only because the language of the ATA is vague and overboard, causing a wide net of possibilites."
ALSO READ:
Why is Top Army General Warning Actress Liza Soberano on Facebook?
Catriona Gray Says Army General Parlade Apologized to Her
'How 1920's': Angel Locsin Defends Liza Soberano from Army General
Parlade called out Tupas for her Jan. 2 story on a petition filed by Aetas before the Supreme Court on the Anti-Terror Act. He said Tupas failed to get the military's side. The report, however, is about a Supreme Court filing and not the merits of the incident that was cited in the petition.
In the comments section, Parlade was asked if a case could be filed, to which he replied: "Aiding the terrorists by spreading lies? PUEDE."
Interviewed on ANC on Friday, Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, the newly-installed Armed Forces chief of staff, said he would "validate" Parlade's claims against Tupas.
Pressed further if he would investigate Parlade's claims, Sobejana said: "We have to investigate or validate kung, about the involvement of anybody, not necessarily Inquirer pero it applies to all, as what I've said we will exercise due dilligence."
MORE ON MILITARY:
How the New Military Chief Plans to Defeat the NPA
Black Hawk Helicopters Coming to Philippine Air Force
Myanmar-Style Coup Will 'Never Happen' in Philippines: Defense Chief
Asked about red-tagging allegations against the military, Sobejana said: "Gawin namin yung aming trabaho in a very deliberate manner. We should be extra careful lalo na sa pagsasalita. We should be very accurate in determing the enemies of the state."
"I do believe that for us to win this war, we should not just make ourselves bigger but make the enemy smaller, so it's better to create friends than creating enemies," he said.
