Manila, PHILIPPINES –Retired Lieutenant General and former National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) spokesperson Antonio Parlade threw his hat in the presidential race for the upcoming May 2022 elections after filing his certificate of candidacy on Monday, November 15.
Parlade filed his candidacy as the substitute candidate of the Katipunan ng Demokratikong Pilipino (KDP), replacing Antonio “Butch” Valdez who withdrew his candidacy on November 13.
While being chief of the AFP Southern Luzon Command, Parlade concurrently served as the spokesperson of the anti-insurgency task force, where he became notorious for red tagging personalities, including celebrities, activists, and members of the House of Representatives.
He eventually resigned from his controversial post a month before his scheduled retirement after members of the Congress questioned the legality of his designation as spokesperson of a civilian task force while being an active military officer.
Despite his resignation and retirement from service, he vowed that he would continue his fight against insurgents, particularly members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-National People’s Army (CPP-NPA).
In September, President Rodrigo Duterte appointed him as the deputy director general of the National Security Council. TNF