Antonio Parlade Jr.

Antonio Parlade Jr. was born on July 26, 1965 in[7] Ligao, Albay but grew up in Daraga. His father Antonio Sr. was a farmer while her mother Manuela was a school teacher. He is the second eldest among four brothers. Under an agreement he was supposed to pursue priesthood while his elder brother was to enter the military. His brother failed to resolve issues on his dental health which was a prerequisite for him to get admitted to the Philippine Military Academy (PMA).[1] Antonio Jr. entered the PMA in his brother's stead graduating from the academy in 1987 as a member of the Hinirang class.[8]

Parlade served for 38 years in the Armed Forces of the Philippines in the Philippine Army, retiring on July 25, 2021 with the rank of lieutenant general. He last held the position of chief of the Southern Luzon Command which covered the Calabarzon, Mimaropa and Bicol regions.[8]

Among Parlade's military decorations include the Distinghished Conduct Star which was awarded to him in 1999, and he has twice been awarded Distinguished Service Star recipient, in 2007 and 2017.[9]

As spokesperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), Parlade has made public accusations that certain figures and institutions are linked to Communist rebels in the Philippines and consequentially has been criticized for "red-tagging" people and groups.

In October 2018, he was heavily criticized by De La Salle University, the University of Santo Tomas, and numerous other Higher Education Institutions when he identified 18 universities and colleges in Metro Manila as venues for recruitment for an alleged plot to oust President Rodrigo Duterte, called "Red October."[10]

In October 2020, he accused of Manila Mayor Isko Moreno of "welcoming … terrorist[s]" to the city after the Moreno ordered the taking down of unauthorized tarpaulins that declared Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) members, New People's Army (NPA) fighters and national democrats as personae non gratae in the city.[11][5][12] In the same month, he made similar allegations against a number of high-profile celebrities, including Angel Locsin, Liza Soberano, and Catriona Gray by associating their advocacy and rights activism work with the New People's Army[13][14][15]

In February 2021, a Committee report from the Philippines' Senate Committee on National Defense criticized his behavior, saying it was bad for the government's anti-insurgency campaign.[4] In that same month, the Armed Forces of the Philippines launched an investigation on Parlade's alleged "red-tagging" after he called journalist Tech Torres-Tupaz a “communist propagandist.”[16]

His role as a spokesperson was put into dispute, when Senator Ping Lacson questioned the legality of Parlade's appointment believing it to be a violation of the constitution's provision barring active members of the military from holding civilian positions. National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. reasoned that the prohibition only applies to Career Executive Service (CES) positions defined under Executive Order 371 issued by President Corazon Aquino and the role of spokesperson is not considered a CES position.[17] Parlade resigned from his position as spokesperson for the NTF-ELCAC sometime in June 2021, though he vowed to continue his campaign against communist revolutionaries.[18][19]

During a panel interview, he had once clarified that, "Communism per se … if it's just belief in communism and that belief isn't paired with violence, I think everyone would get along. … In fact, in Europe … there are still many communist parties, but that's okay since they don't maintain armed wings. Their societies have come to accept them. But over here, it's different: [the CPP] has an armed wing. And that's why we're having this problem."[20] Likewise, in a later interview, he said that, "It's the same with the right: if you're far right, and you [cross the line] by taking up arms and trying to overthrow the [government], that's a whole other story."[21]

Parlade submitted his candidacy for president in the upcoming 2022 presidential elections under the Katipunan ng Demokratikong Pilipino party (KDP), but he was not included in the list of official candidates by COMELEC.[24]

Parlade is married to Cecile Ortega since 1995 with whom he had four daughters and a son.[1]