Move to ‘defund’ NTF-ELCAC opposed, seen to divide Senate

A GROUNDSWELL of opposition has developed in the past week over a proposal by some senators to “defund” the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), with Sen. Christopher Lawrence ‘Bong’ Go warning all the government’s gains in its anti-insurgency campaign being put to waste.

From National Security Adviser and task force vice chair, Hermogenes Esperon, to highly-respected evangelist and bible-preacher, Apollo Quiboloy, downwards to provincial and local government executives and to the disparate ordinary poor Filipinos living in communist-infested villages in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, there is only one message they want senators and members of Congress to understand—DO NOT DEFUND THE TASK FORCE.

As reported by Pinoy Exposé in its last issue (Issue No. 16), trouble started after Southern Luzon (Solcom) area commander and task force spokesperson, Lt. General Antonio ‘Jun’ Parlade, commented in a media interview last April 22, 2021, that it would be “stupid” for lawmakers should they decide to “defund” the task force, especially the ‘Barangay Development Program’ (BDP), considering it was Congress, in the first place, which approved its budget last year.

The BDP is the government’s centerpiece program under the ‘Whole of Nation, Whole of Government’ (WON/WOG) strategy, to finally defeat the 5-decades old communist insurgency.

Reacting to Parlade’s remark that was taken out of context, Drilon wasted no time in filing a resolution calling for the defunding of the task force and the realignment of its budget for other purpose by Pres. Duterte.

Last year, despite opposition from the communist bloc (Makabayan Bloc) in Congress and their allies in the Senate under the Liberal Party (LP) headed by Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, the NTF-ELCAC was given a budget of over P19 billion, the bulk of which, P16.4 billion are to be used for the BDP.

For this year, the BDP targets to support and develp 822 remote villages all over the country that were former strongholds of the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (CPP-NJPA).

Despite Congress deciding to support the BDP, Drilon and the LP’s communist allies in and out of Congress have continued with their campaign to defund and discredit the task force, Parlade in particular, whom they want removed as task force spokesperson.

Reacting to Parlade’s remark that was taken out of context, Drilon wasted no time in filing a resolution calling for the defunding of the task force and the realignment of its budget for other purpose by Pres. Duterte.

His call was immediately supported by senators Richard Gordon, Sherwin Gatchalian, Nancy Binay, Joel Villaueva and LP members, Risa Hontiveros, Leila de Lima and Francis Pangilinan.

As a preliminary to making the task force inutile and the BDP useless, a separate resolution was filed calling for a “review” and “audit” of BDP expenses.

The LP had also previously managed to amend a Senate committee report on red-tagging last March calling for the censure and removal of Parlade from the task force.

‘Do you not see the consequence of your decision?’

This was the question that Pastor Apollo Quiboloy posed to those calling for the defunding of the task force, in his television and social media broadcast last April 27, 2021.

“Maghihirap na naman ang mga barangay, sasalakay na naman doon ang NPA-NDF, mananakot, magte-terrorize na naman, gusto ninyo ‘yun… para lang sumikat kayo,” asked the influential pastor based in Mindanao and whose support and “blessing” is also being sought by politicians.

“Mag-isip isip kayo mga senador, mga kabigan ko pa naman kayo,” he adds.

As the news of the senators’ decision to defund the NTF-ELCAC spreads, last week saw the passing of several resolutions by local and provincial governments from Abra to Mindanao expressing their collective opposition to the move and warning that doing so would only result to the communist terrorist groups being able to regain their eroding footholds in the countryside.

And rising to oppose the move, Sen. Bong Go said he rejects the defunding of the task force, warning this “will derail the government’s anti-insurgency campaign.”

“Hindi po ako sang-ayon d’yan dahil maantala ang ating kampanya, itong anti-insurgency campaign natin,” said Go.

The senator made his position known during an ambush interview after he attended the launch of the 104th Malasakit Center at the Leyte Provincial Hospital and the 105th at the Schistosomiasis Control and Research Hospital both in Palo, Leyte, last April 30, 2021.

Go added that the campaign against insurgency has made significant progress through the various programs of the NTF-ELCAC.

Defunding the task force would put to waste all the progress the government has accomplished so far, he pointed out.

Go also reminded his colleagues that thru the BDP, the government is using a ‘non-violent approach’ to defeat the pestering communist terrorism.

“Ang pondo para sa ELCAC, hindi para makipagpatayan. Ang pondo na ito ay tulong sa mga barangay para hikayatin sila na may maitulong sila sa komunidad nila,” Go explained.

“Tulong po ito sa barangay. So, kung makakatulong ito sa pag-unlad ng bayan, ‘di po ako sang-ayon na putulin po ito dahil maganda na po ang takbo ng kampanya, he added.

For his part, Sen. Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa, Pres. Duterte’s first chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) who has also spent more than 30 years of his career fighting the CPP-NPA, said his opposition to defund the NTF-ELCAC was borne out of his personal experience.

“Itong pinaghugutan ko ng aking paninindigan na ito ay hindi pamumulitika kung hindi…yung buhay ng aking mga tao noon na namatay sa pakikipagbakbakan namin sa NPA at yung aking karanasan noong ako ay bata pa sa serbisyo…

“Noong bata pa kami sa serbisyo, ‘yun ang aming frustration…ang aming nasasabi palagi is that, Ano bang klaseng giyera ito, pinabayaan na lang ba tayo ng iba parang tayo na lang ang gobyerno dito?… ‘Yung ibang ahensya ng gobyerno walang pakialam,” Dela Rosa said.

Dela Rosa said it would be unwise to remove the fund of the NTF-ELCAC because it is being used to bankroll social services projects in barangays already cleared of communist insurgency.

He added that while he expects the floor debate on the issue of defunding the NTC-ELCAC to be “bloody,” reason would prevail in the end.

“I think medyo ‘madugong labanan’ ‘yan, pero siguro hindi naman ako nand’yan nag-iisa. ‘Yung iba d’yan medyo tahimik lang, pero alam ko na kakampi natin ‘yan hindi lang sila gaanong vocal pero pagdating naman sa pagdepensa ng budget marami naman siguro tutulong sa atin d’yan,” he said.