Officials of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) might also have to face lawmakers at the House of Representatives to defend its use of its P19-billion budget amid criticisms on its red-tagging activities against community pantry volunteers.
This, as House Deputy Speaker Mikee Romero filed Resolution No. 1729, which "strongly" urges the lower chamber to look into the utilization of the government's anti-insurgency funds.
Romero noted that the NTF-ELCAC has been heavily criticized by the public "owing mostly to its highly questionable and controversial habit and practice of red-tagging various individuals through mainstream or social media."
The administration ally particularly mentioned the task force's spokesperson, Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade, Jr. and Presidential Communications Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy for red-tagging Ana Patricia Non, who initiated the "now wonderfully popular" community pantry in Quezon City.
Parlade and Badoy's "unsubstantiated and baseless claims", he said, exposes community pantry organizers to "serious dangers against their rights".
"The rampant and unlawful profiling and obvious red-tagging of organizers to associate them as members of the CPP-NPA and therefore 'terrorists...is simply to too wicked to be ignored," Romero said.
"Attributing malice, without presenting hard evidence, sows division among Filipinos and send chilling effect to those who may want to help their kababayan (countrymen)," he added.
"It is a great disservice to the Filipino nation to allow NTF-ELCAC to proceed with their mandate without a thorough review by Congress, through its legislative oversight function, of how the same office is using its funds which may be well be put to better use in light of the COVID-19 pandemic," Romero pointed out.
'Better use'
In a related development, members of the House of Representatives' Makabayan bloc also filed on Tuesday, April 27, a bill that would reallocate the NTF-ELCAC's funds for the provision of a P100 emergency daily wage subsidy to workers in the private sector.
The progressive lawmakers said the bill, which is based on the demands of several labor groups, aims to close the gap between the nominal amount of daily minimum wages and its real value.
"Ordinary citizens are already doing their part to help their fellow Filipinos through the community pantry, while the government have been repeatedly remiss in providing financial aid amidst the lockdowns...It's time for the government to give its share, to bring something to the table," Bayan Muna Representative Ferdinand Gaite, one of its authors, said.
"Since there are calls to defund the NTF-ELCAC, this bill presents another alternative to where their funds could be reallocated. Kesa nilulustay ni Parlade at Badoy ang perang iyan, ibigay na lang natin 'yan sa mga manggagawa (Instead of Parlade and Badoy wasting the funds, let's just give that to the workers)," he said.
"Let's put that fund to better use. Sayang lang 'yan kung popondohan lang ang chismosos-in-tandem na ito (Funds are being wasted by these rumormongerers in tandem)," Gaite appealed.