Senate President Vicente Sotto III told his fellow lawmakers to look at the implementation and success of the government's anti-insurgency programs, and not the officials involved, before deciding to slash its funds.
Sotto maintained his opposition to the senators' call to defund the National Task Force to End the Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) of its P19-billion budget.
"All because we do not like certain personalities? Parlade and Badoy are not the NTF-ELCAC!" Sotto told reporters in a message Sunday, April 25.
"Now if the program is not working then we can assess that in the budget hearings," he said.
"Implementation and success rate should be the gauge," he pointed out.
The Senate chief also said that defunding the NTF-ELCAC will not be possible this year as its funds were legitimately provided under the 2021 national budget.
Earlier, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon stressed that under the General Appropriations Act, the President has the authority to realign funds to augment the Philippines' COVID-19 response.
Senator Panfilo Lacson, meanwhile, said there was a consensus among senators to deny the NTF-ELCAC its 2022 budget to "send a strong message" to the country's defense sector.
But Sotto had said that the NTF-ELCAC should just remove its "irresponsible" officials, stressing that the anti-insurgency campaign is "good" program of the government.
On Sunday, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon confirmed that he has ordered NTF-ELCAC spokesperson Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade and Communications Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy to "desist from making statements on community pantries."
Esperon is also the NTF-ELCAC's vice chaiperson.
Parlade earned the ire of senators for linking organizers of community pantries to communist rebels and even likening Ana Patricia Non, who initiated the donation-driven movement, to "Satan's apple" to justify his claim.
The military official also admitted last week that the NTF-ELCAC has been conducting background checks on community pantry volunteers, although Esperon denied it and said they are merely "observing" them.
For pushing to realign the NTF-ELCAC's funds, Parlade called the senators "stupid".