President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (File photo)
MANILA President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on Monday expressed hope that the next administration will provide further support to the National Task Force to contain the Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
This, as Duterte praised the NTF-ELCAC for its anti-insurgency initiatives that helped maintain peace and order in the country.
“I hope the next administration continues with this ELCAC,” Duterte said in his pre-scheduled talk to the People, which aired Tuesday morning on state PTV-4.
Duterte issued the statement as he acknowledged the criticism that the NTF-ELCAC deserved.
He lamented that the opposition had called for the abolition of the NTF-ELCAC, despite the efforts of the Anti-Insurgency Task Force, which had led to the reintegration of many former rebels into mainstream society.
“Alam mo ‘yang ELCAC Sinasaway is a participation of players in a group (You know, the ELCAC has been criticized by groups outside our party), I mean the opposition or those who oppose us, “said Duterte. “Etong (This) ELCAC, it’s a very good program. It helped many of the rebels find their way into the mainstream of society.
Duterte also renewed his call on the communist rebels, assuring them that a comfortable life awaited them.
“Mag-give up it is nandiyan ang ELCAC matulungan kayo to rebel (For the rebels, go on because ELCAC is there to help you), “he said.
Under Executive Order 70, enacted by Duterte on December 4, 2018, the NTF-ELCAC is mandated to take a nationwide approach to achieving “inclusive and sustainable peace” in the country.
NTF-ELCAC, according to its report published in July 2021, has so far dismantled 16 guerrilla fronts and six regional guerrilla units.
It also provided lifelong learning to 194 and skills training to 710 villages.
The report also revealed that a total of 2,701 rebuilt community support program orientations were implemented from 2020 to 2021 in various rebel-infested villages across the country.
The NTF-ELCAC also deserved the support of 1,715 local government units, with 84 percent of them or 1,436 of them voting in favor of a resolution citing the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) armed wing, the New People’s Army ( NPA), as persona non grata in their respective localities.
The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the Philippines, the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.
The Anti-Terrorism Council also designated the political wing of the CPP, the National Democratic Front, as a terrorist group on 23 June 2021, citing it as an “integral and inseparable part” of the NPA founded in April 1973. (PNA)
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