THE Office of the Ombudsman has sanctioned former NTF-ELCAC spokespersons Lorraine Badoy and retired LtGen. Antonio Parlade, Jr. for red-tagging lawyers.
The Ombudsman found the two former officials guilty of engaging in “conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service” over a complaint lodged by the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) for calling their members as terrorist and communist rebel sympathizers without basis.
The NUPL previously included former National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. in the complaint, but the Ombudsman said there was not enough basis to involve him in the ruling.
“The aforementioned statements unduly tarnishes the image of the NTF-ELCAC as it perpetuates the notion that it is being used as a governmental tool to silence dissent or opposition instead of legitimately pursuing its ultimate goal of lasting peace and ending the armed conflict with the communist rebels,” the Ombudsman said in the Aug. 9, 2023 ruling released to the public on Sept. 21.
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