General tells celebrities Soberano, Gray not to join Gabriela activities

October 22, 2020

An official from the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) called on celebrities like actress Liza Soberano and 2018 Miss Universe Catriona Gray not to be involved in activities of Gabriela Women’s Party.

In a statement, Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr., Southern Luzon Command (Solcom) chief, said Soberano should not be red-tagged but must be educated.

“Let us not red-tag Liza Soberano. It's not fair to her. She is merely supporting advocacy for women's rights. She has to be protected in the exercise of her rights. Is she an NPA (New People's Army) ? No, of course not. Not yet,” Parlade said.

“So let's help educate her and the other celebrity targets of Malayang Kilusan ng Bagong Kababaihan (Makibaka), the Underground Mass Organization hiding under Gabriela Women's Party,” he added.

He made the statement after Soberano was tagged by some government supporters as a member of the militant group after attending a forum organized by Gabriela.

Parlade also called out Gabriela Partylist Rep. Arlene Brosas ,saying they are not informing their recruits about their “hidden violent agenda”.

He warned Soberano to leave the group so that she will not suffer the same fate as Josephine Anne Lapira who was one of the 15 alleged New People's Army members killed in an encounter with the military in Batangas in 2017.

“Liza Soberano, there' s still a chance to abdicate that group. If you don't, you will suffer the same fate as Josephine Anne Lapira, former Deputy Secretary General of Gabriela Youth of UP Manila and defender of women's rights, even against sexual predators amongst her comrades in the NPA unit she joined which is clearly stated in her handwritten letter addressed to a certain @Emil,” Parlade said.

“The choice is yours Liza. And so with you Catriona. Don't follow the path Ka Ella Colmenares (Locsin) took in the underground and NPA Quezon. I am sure Angel Locsin and Neri Colmenares will not tell you this,” he said.

For her part, Brosas said Parlade’s statement is ironic as the government official red-tagged Soberano in his statement while telling others to not red-tag her.

“By saying that Soberano is ‘not yet an NPA’, he is maliciously associating the actress with the armed movement when what she did in the youth forum was to only speak up for all the victims of gender-based violence and abuse,” she said.

“It is clear that Parlade, the NTF-ELCAC and the paid trolls are the ones who are rabidly red-tagging Liza Soberano and other female celebrities and influencers who are taking a stand and speaking out against the macho-fascism under the Duterte regime,” she added.

Brosas said Gabriela’s 20 years of advancing women and children’s rights inside and outside of Congress cannot be smeared by the government’s repeated lies.

“They are becoming desperate as we approach our 20th anniversary celebration on October 25, wherein we will highlight our achievements and the broad support for our agenda and advocacy,” she said. Ella Dionisio/DMS