KARAPATAN human rights alliance has questioned why former Southern Luzon Command chief and ex-National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) spokesperson Antonio Parlade was given access to Fil-American activist Chantal Anicoche while she was in military custody.
“In what capacity was Parlade allowed to speak with Chantal?” asked KARAPATAN national council member Jonila Castro, who was herself abducted with fellow activist Jhed Tamano in Orion, Bataan in September 2023 and held in military custody for 17 days.
Castro and Tamano courageously went “off-script” during the NTF-ELCAC-organized press conference in September 2023 which was designed by the task force to present them as ‘surrenderees.’ Instead, they divulged the truth about their abduction. Since then, the military has avoided presenting captured activists to the public, at times resorting to playing only their video-taped statements to the press.
Republic Act No. 7438, which outlines the rights of persons arrested, detained or under custodial investigation, states that the latter should be allowed to have access to their immediate family members, lawyers, doctors, spiritual advisers and representatives from NGOs and Parlade does not fall under any of these categories, said Castro.
“We must remember that Chantal was held incommunicado throughout at least 22 days of military custody and not presented immediately to the Commission on Human Rights or members of human rights organizations, nor was she allowed to consult with a lawyer or spiritual adviser of her own choosing. But later, we read about Parlade gloating about an alleged conversation he had with Chantal shortly before she left for the US,” she added.
“I have every reason to believe that Chantal’s experience under military custody was not different from ours,” said Castro. “We and our families were threatened, and we were subjected to verbal abuse, mental and psychological torture. We realized that the only way out was to play along with the NTF-ELCAC’s script, write our so-called confessions as dictated by our military captors and allow ourselves to be presented to the public as ‘surrenderees’. It was the only way we could have access to the public and tell the truth.”
“Following our personal experience, any papers or undertakings signed by Chantal or any statements attributed to her by the Armed Forces of the Philippines while she was in military custody should be viewed with suspicion, Castro stressed. “As for Parlade,” said Castro, “we should be wary of anything that comes out of the mouth of someone who has been caught lying through his teeth and making baseless and reckless accusations multiple times throughout his career as a red- and terror-tagger,” concluded Castro.