Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the “recalibration” of the controversial NTF-ELCAC (National Task Force to End the Local Communist Armed Conflict), which he concurrently chairs, by designating Vice President Sara Duterte as the body’s co-vice chairperson.
This was announced Wednesday night by National Security Adviser Eduardo Año, the task force vice chairperson, following the body’s executive committee meeting in Malacañang, presided over by Executive Secretary Luis Bersamin. Año said he moved to formalize Duterte’s designation at the meeting in compliance with Marcos Jr’s directives:
“The President’s marching orders to the NTF-ELCAC is clear: sustain the whole-of-nation approach to peace and development to prevent communist terrorists, their front organizations and other lawless elements from recruiting, regrouping and regaining power.”
It is important to note, for the record, that it was the second time for Marcos Jr. to issue such an injunction to his counterinsurgency warriors, using the same wording, since he started his presidency in July 2022.
On Oct. 27, 2022, he spoke in Davao City and formally declared the Davao Region (Region XI) to be “insurgency-free” after more than 50 years of armed conflict between the government security forces and the revolutionary fighters of the New People’s Army. “It is my hope that all the things you have achieved here in Davao can also be replicated across the country,” he said then.
Although sounding celebratory, Marcos Jr. also took a cautionary stance. Warning of the possibility of the Davao region going “back to square one” – which he stressed the government couldn’t afford to happen – he enjoined his audience:
“We will need to sustain [the ‘insurgency-free’ declaration] with a whole-of-nation approach to peace and development to prevent terrorist and lawless elements from recruiting, regrouping and regaining power over our countrymen.”
He then called on the armed forces, government agencies and communities to “continue working together to seize the gains in the region and ensure that we will carry this momentum toward the future.” By that statement, Marcos Jr. implied that the counterinsurgency deployment of government troops with police forces would continue in the Davao region.
It’s quaint that in his Wednesday statement, Año quoted his President as reiterating that call.
One may ask: Does Marcos Jr’s concern over what could happen in Davao have to do with his designation of Vice President Duterte as NTF-ELCAC co-vice chairperson, because she’s recognized as a formidable political figure in the region?
Año simply remarked that the Vice President’s “unstinting commitment” to fight against communist insurgency “will be very valuable to the task force and we thank her for accepting the challenge.”
Ms. Duterte, who sat at the head of the table beside Bersamin at the Malacañang meeting, described her new designation thus:
“This is a show of force – a clear, strong and powerful statement and warning – against the enemies of the state who slaughter civilians and indigenous peoples… We cannot let these things continue. The so-called protracted war must end. And it must end now.”
With such a foreboding statement, one could surmise how gravely Sara Duterte views the counterinsurgency situation. One could also ask if Marcos Jr shares her outlook.
But let’s look into what national security adviser Año has additionally disclosed in his statement, issued separately through the government-run Philippine News Agency. He was quoted as having said the following:
• “We wish to reiterate that the administration is firmly committed to the whole-of-nation approach to finally ending communist terrorism in the country. The President, in fact, has directed the task force to intensify its efforts since we have already attained strategic victory over the CPP-NPA-NDFP.”
• He assured the government that the NTF-ELCAC will “relentlessly deliver on its commitment to unity, peace and development anchored on the principle of good and inclusive governance.” Big words, which Año did not deign to explain or elaborate on.
• “With the support of all instrumentalities of government and the entire nation, we shall be enablers of positive change in the lives of our people as we remain steadfast in our commitment to end the long-standing communist armed conflict and terrorism by addressing its root causes and pursuing its last remaining armed and violent components.”
More big-word promises like “positive change in the lives of our people” and addressing the “root causes of the long-standing communist armed conflict,” without citing any specifics.
“What is most significant from today’s (Wednesday) meeting is the fact that we are shifting from the old to the New NTF-ELCAC with the primary role of being ‘bringers of peace,’” he said. “This is what the President desires for our people. That each and every Filipino can live a life of genuine and enduring peace. For where there is peace and unity, economic development comes behind,” Año said.
Again, Año did not explain the difference between what he called the “old” and the “new” NTF-ELCAC.
Finally, Año provided the following data on the counterinsurgency situation according to NTF-ELCAC:
• Since the inception of the task force through Executive Order 70, issued by former president Rodrigo Duterte in December 2018, “75 percent of all NPA guerrilla fronts have been dismantled.”
• “Only 22 out of the original 89 fronts are still existing. Of the 22 left, 20 are weakened and the remaining two are the subject of focused military operations and development efforts by the NTF-ELCAC agencies.
• “We are on the cusp of victory and we give credit to those who came before us for making this possible. To them, all of us in this strong alliance will forever be grateful.”
If the alleged NTF-ELCAC data are factual and true, why is there need to “recalibrate” the task force and pull in Sara Duterte to reinforce it? And why wasn’t the Vice President provided with the same data that ought to have altered her dire perception of the status of the insurgency?