Diretso na sa barangay! Benny Abante seeks transfer of NTF-ELCAC’s funds to DSWD, DOLE

By Billy Begas

Deputy Speaker and Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante said the government should prioritize the financial assistance programs over a controversial counter-insurgency body that is more focused on red-tagging than its actual mandate.

Abante said the government could transfer the funds allocated to the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to help poor families and Filipinos who lost their jobs during the pandemic.

He has filed a resolution urging the House to reallocate the P16 billion NTF-ELCAC funds for barangay development projects.

“Given the gravity of the problems brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, and in light of the inability of NTF-ELCAC to properly perform its functions, the government should prioritize efforts to provide financial assistance and other forms of support to our countrymen who have no sources of income or have limited means as a result of the pandemic,” Abante said.

Abante lamented that NTF-ELCAC communications efforts “appear to center on publicly accusing elected officials, journalists, non-government organizations, activists, lawyers, educators, celebrities, and private citizens of having links to armed communist insurgency groups, a practice commonly referred to as red-tagging.”

Despite the warning from legislators and concerned public officials to refrain from this practice, NTF-ELCAC officials continue to red-tag individuals, the latest of whom include individuals organizing ‘community pantries’ that seek to provide free food and basic necessities for citizens hard up because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.”

Abante said the resolution that the NTF-ELCAC’s continued red-tagging of groups and individuals is inconsistent with its mandate to counter the insurgency.

The NTF-ELCAC was established via Executive Order 80 in 2018, to implement a “Whole-of-Nation Approach” that “addresses the root causes of insurgencies, internal disturbances and tensions, and other conflicts and threats by prioritizing and harmonizing the delivery of basic services and social development packages by the government, facilitating societal inclusivity, and ensuring active participation of all sectors of the society in the pursuit of the country’s peace agenda.”

“Rather than promote inclusivity, the NTF ELCAC continues to alienate potential allies; rather than encourage the public to support its objectives, it continues to draw its ire; rather than be a light for peace, it continues to be a lightning rod of conflict,” Abante added.

Instead of encouraging, Abante said NTF-ELCAC is discouraging those who want to lend a helping hand, referring to the community pantries that were red-tagged recently.

Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)