Controversial retired general Antonio Parlade Jr. filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) for president.
Infamous for red-tagging various personalities without presenting proof, Parlade replaced Antonio Valdes as the presidential bet of the Katipunan ng Demokratikong Pilipino party.
Parlade said that since he is not a politician, no other political party wanted him.
Valdes earlier submitted his candidacy as an independent bet, making him ineligible for substitution.
However, the Comelec Law Department said that they will accept COCs today but they will evaluate each certificate’s validity.
He mentioned that his intention to secure a senate seat was due to the recent “political circus” and his plan to protect President Rodrigo Duterte.
Parlade served as the spokesperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
“The Office of the President should be protected… I am running to make sure I will be able to protect the president beyond his term,” he told reporters.
Parlade was appointed by Duterte as deputy director-general of the National Security Council after his service as Southern Luzon Command chief.
The retired military official was infamous for accusing personalities as either supporters or members of the communist movement sans any evidence. This pushed lawmakers for the defunding of the NTF-ELCAC. Ronald Espartinez