14 senators want Parlade censured after 'stupid' remark

ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/news/04/27/20200824-senate-comm-appointments-parlade-sprib-31.jpg"/><figcaption>Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Southern Luzon Command (Solcom) Chief Major General Antonio Parlade Jr., appears before the hybrid deliberation of the Committee on National Defense of the Commission on Appointments Monday, Aug. 24, 2020, tackling the ad interim appointments and nomination of 15 senior officers of the AFP. Henzberg Austria, Senate PRIB/File</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA - Majority of senators have signed a resolution denouncing Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade, the spokesman of the country&#x27;s anti-insurgency task force, who earlier called senators &quot;stupid&quot; for threatening to defund his agency next year.&quot;I have been almost 24 years at the Senate. This is the first time I hear of a member of the armed forces who called the senators stupid,&quot; Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon told ANC Tuesday.Drilon said he would file the resolution Tuesday.&quot;It is a certainty that Gen. Parlade will be censured by the Senate for this kind of a conduct when we come back on May 17,&quot; he said.Among the senators who backed Drilon&#x27;s resolution against Parlade are: - Senate President Vicente Sotto III - Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto - Sen. Nancy Binay - Sen. Leila de Lima - Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian - Sen. Richard Gordon - Sen. Risa Hontiveros - Sen. Panfilo Lacson - Sen. Lito Lapid - Sen. Francis Pangilinan - Sen. Grace Poe - Sen. Joel Villanueva - Sen. Koko Pimentel - Sen. Pia CayetanoIn a press briefing Monday, Drilon said, &quot;It&#x27;s not a matter of appeasing the Senate. It&#x27;s a matter of upholding the dignity of the Senate.&quot;&quot;His statements are very disrespectful, derogatory against Senate. We do not deserve that kind of language calling us stupid,&quot; he added.The Senate Minority Leader underscored that Parlade&#x27;s appointment as the NTF-ELCAC&#x27;s spokesperson was also a violation of the constitution.Under the law, military officials who are still in active service are not allowed to occupy positions in the executive branch as the Constitution upholds the &quot;civilian supremacy within the government,&quot; Drilon told ANC.In March, the Senate also adopted a committee report calling for Parlade&#x27;s removal as spokesman of the task force.&quot;The official act of the Senate has been ignored. It would appear that he&#x27;s indeed untouchable,&quot; the senator said.Parlade is also the chief of the military&#x27;s Southern Luzon Command.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/22/21/senators-urge-palace-remove-parlade-from-ntf-elcac-after-satan-remark">Senators urge Palace: Remove Parlade from NTF-ELCAC after &#x27;Satan&#x27; remark</a></li></ul>National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon earlier said that the spokespersons of the anti-communist insurgency council have been ordered to stop making remarks on community pantries, but Parlade said no such order was issued.&quot;No gag order. Just gave an interview a while ago,&quot; Parlade told ABS-CBN News in a text message.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/25/21/gag-order-issued-vs-ntf-elcacs-parlade-badoy-on-community-pantry-issue">Gag order issued vs NTF-ELCAC&#x27;s Parlade, Badoy on community pantry issue</a></li></ul>Several senators earlier pushed to give the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) either a zero budget or reduced its funding next year after Parlade accused some community pantry organizers of being communist supporters.Last year, Drilon pushed for the realignment of the anti-communism panel&#x27;s P19-billion budget to fund COVID-19 programs, but was outvoted in plenary.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/12/09/20/congress-bicam-panel-retains-p19-b-anti-insurgency-fund-in-2021-budget">Congress bicam panel retains P19-B anti-insurgency fund in 2021 budget</a></li></ul><div>RELATED VIDEO</div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1672405" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

Majority of senators have signed a resolution denouncing Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade, the spokesman of the country's anti-insurgency task force, who earlier called senators "stupid" for threatening to defund his agency next year.

Majority of senators have signed a resolution denouncing Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade, the spokesman of the country's anti-insurgency task force, who earlier called senators "stupid" for threatening to defund his agency next year.

14 senators want Parlade censured after 'stupid' remark | ABS-CBN

Halalan 2025

Entertainment

News

Metro.Style

Sports

More

Traffic

Horoscope

News

14 senators want Parlade censured after 'stupid' remark

14 senators want Parlade censured after 'stupid' remark

ABS-CBN News

Published Apr 27, 2021 09:14 AM PHT

|

Updated Apr 27, 2021 09:35 AM PHT

Read More:

Franklin Drilon

Antonio Parlade

COVID-19

coronavirus

community pantries

Senate

politics

Congress

NTF-ELCAC

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.