@ILoveMadoka:
To answer your question definitively, i.e. using the VLA equivalent, lido's solution is the one you are looking for.
Beware, however, that the use of vla, vlax functions is not always the best. Often the entmake function is much more powerful and flexible than the vla-add function, the hatches created with vla functions are extremely cumbersome.
(setq A3 (ssget "_X" '((2 . "SW_CEN*")))) (command "_.erase" A3 "")
This is the quickest solution, in my opinion, and it is the one you wrote down. I often use it out of laziness and my friend mhupp will agree with me!