Journalists demand Parlade apology for threat to reporter

Journalists covering the justice beat on Thursday demanded an apology from Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr. over a threat to sue Inquirer.net reporter Tetch Torres-Tupas for a story other reporters also covered.

In a statement, the Justice and Court Reporters Association slammed Parlade for hinting at filing a suit under the controversial Anti-Terrorism Act against Torres, who reported on two Aeta farmers requesting the Supreme Court to allow them to join the fight against very law.

Parlade, in at least two Facebook posts, accused Torres of sourcing her report from New York-based watchdog Human Rights Watch and independent media outlets Kodao and Bulatlat, which he also labeled as “propaganda machines” of the Communist Party of the Philippines. READ MORE

CONDEMNED

Inquirer.net condemned the threat of Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr. to sue reporter Tetch Torres-Tupas for her report on two Aetas who sought help from the Supreme Court against the anti-terrorism law.

Parlade accused Torres-Tupas as a propagandist in a Facebook post on February 3.

“INQUIRER.net takes vigorous exception to the apparent red-tagging of our reporter and expresses alarm over Parlade’s attempt to sow fear, stifle dissent and curtail her right to make truthful and objective reports,” Inquirer.net says in a statement.