Robredo reiterates call for NTF-ELCAC abolition

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo has reiterated her call to abolish the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), saying the billions allocated for it is better used for pandemic response.

“There is a duplication of mandate… It has functions that other agencies are already doing,” she said in Filipino during a press briefing in Batangas last Wednesday.

“The intention was good, but if we give too much power and support from the government, there might be a time when this will be used… for harassment,” she added, citing abuses linked to the government’s deadly war against illegal drugs.

Its budget, said Robredo, should instead be used to support health care workers on the frontlines of COVID-19 response.

Robredo’s running mate Sen. Francis Pangilinan has supported the Senate’s decision to reduce the task force’s proposed 2022 budget from P28 billion to just P4 billion.

“(The government increased) the budget of NTF-ELCAC but slashed the budget of hospitals while we are in the middle of the pandemic. It is justified to move the funds,” he said.

Senators debate NTF-ELCAC budget cut

At yesterday’s national budget deliberations in the Senate, Sen. Sonny Angara revealed that only 26 of the 2,318 projects funded under the NTF-ELCAC’s P16.4-billion Barangay Development Fund for this year have been completed.

For this reason, the chairman of the Senate committee on finance found suggestions of his senator-colleagues to cut the NTF-ELCAC budget to P4 billion as justified.

“We have no argument to the philosophies and ideas to end local communist armed conflict, which is to win the hearts and minds of formerly insurgent communities,” Angara said. “But if the implementation is bad, they don’t deserve the funding, especially in a time of national health emergency like COVID-19.”

This is despite the senator’s acknowledgement of the NTF-ELCAC’s report that 883 of the projects are in pre-procurement stage, 841 in the procurement stage, and 568 are ongoing implementation.

Sen. Ronald dela Rosa maintained his support for the NTF-ELCAC, calling its efforts as “a game-changer in terms of projects and programs.”

“This is a game-changer against insurgency. Even if we kill the last insurgent, but the root cause of insurgency – which is poverty and social injustice brought about by decades of government neglect – is not addressed, nothing will happen and the problem will not be solved,” Dela Rosa said.

But Senate President Vicente Sotto III interjected, saying: “At this point, we should go behind the reason. While we all know the reason for the NTF-ELCAC and Sen. Dela Rosa is absolutely correct, now the big question with the budget is, ‘How did you spend it?’”

Driving his final point, Angara said: “I still believe it’s a good program, but even the best program on paper must be justified by good implementation. If they can show there’s a good implementation, we can increase the funding for it.”

Lorenzana to the defense

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said yesterday that calls to abolish the NTF-ELCAC are “misplaced.”

“The NTF (-ELCAC) has been implementing its mandate for the past two years and we have not received any complaints from the target barangays,” Lorenzana said.

“Likewise, the NTF is already implementing a whole-of-nation approach to address the ‘root causes’ of insurgency.”

He urged Robredo to invite the NTF-ELCAC to a dialogue so she could be “enlightened” on the anti-insurgency body’s mission.

Lorenzana also slammed the move of the Senate finance committee to cut the budget of the task force for the Barangay Development Program, saying it “shows their lack of appreciation of the plight of our folks in the remote barangays.”

“Their act was supposed to punish the NTF, but in effect they are punishing the poor people who would have benefitted from the infrastructure and social services projects under the BDP,” he said.

In a press briefing with the Rotary Club of Makati on Tuesday, Robredo reiterated her position on peace talks and addressing insurgency in the country.

“I have always been very vocal about my push to reengage, again, communities and civil society organizations in demanding not just from CPP-NPA-NDF (Communist Part of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front), but also from the government to create a more conducive and enabling environment for peace negotiations to resume,” she said. – Cecille Suerte Felipe, Ralph Edwin Villanueva