The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) has distributed P10.68 billion or 65 percent of the total P16.44-billion fund alloted for the Barangay Development Program (BDP), a task force official announced Monday, May 10.
NTF Vice Chairman and National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said the funds were already given to 712 barangays that were cleared of communist influence from 2016 to 2019.
"As of May 4, P10.68 billion or 65 percent of the BDP have been released to 712 out of 822 barangay recipients," Esperon said in a virtual press briefing.
He said this showed a "mark of efficiency and good governance" of the administration of President Duterte as the barangays will now be able to start building the necessary social services to bring developments in the communities.
Aside from this, 110 barangays are already in the process of endorsing their development projects to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
"We see the immediate release of the BDP funds as a testament to the sense of urgency of the LGUs that have complied with the requirements of the BDP," Esperon said.
The BDP is the flagship program of the anti-communist task force created and chaired by Duterte to eradicate the threat of communist insurgency in the country before his term ends in 2022.
Under the said program, each cleared barangay is entitled to receive P20 million for the construction and delivery of various basic and social services such as farm to market roads, school buildings, water and sanitation systems, health stations, and livelihood projects among others.
Aside from the 822 cleared barangays from 2016 to 2019, there are also 1,044 communities that were rid of communist influence from 2020 to 2021, Esperon stressed.
"These will also be included in the Barangay Development Program," he said.
The budget of the NTF-ELCAC was put in peril after one of its spokesperson, Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr., called some senators as "stupid" for wanting to defund the task force over its alleged red-tagging of personalities and organizations.
Meanwhile, the NTF-ELCAC has introduced a new organizational framework with the inclusion of more spokespersons aside from Parlade and Communications Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy. The task force has now eight spokespersons.
They are Parlade for security sector operations; Badoy for social media affairs and sectoral concerns; Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Usec. Jonathan Malaya for local government affairs, barangay development program, and international engagement; and Usec. Severo Catura for international affairs, peace process, and human rights concerns.
Also named spokespersons are Usec. Joel Egco for mass media engagements as a "fact checker"; Assistant Secretary Celine Pialago for NTF-ELCAC public affairs and information, and youth concerns; lawyer Marlon Bosantog for legal affairs and indegenous peoples' (IP) concerns and his assistant spokesperson, Kaye Floreindo.
"These eight spokespersons come from the different government agencies. The designation of officials under the expanded pool of spokespersons allow for a focused discourse and engagement with the public on each spokesperson's respective systematic coverage," Esperon said.