Senate Finance Committee chief Senator Sonny Angara on Friday said it is still too early to say whether or not the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) should be abolished.

“I think it’s way too early to make that judgment for the NTF-ELCAC. (It) only started to receive budget in 2020 and a very small one at that for a nationwide program. It was scaled up in 2021,” Angara said in an interview on ANC’s Headstart.

Angara pointed out the government’s anti-insurgency program is actually a “good concept” as it is aimed at helping poor barangays who are once under the control of insurgents have access to development programs to discourage them from joining the ranks of communist rebels.

“I think it’s still a good idea. What caused the rebel returnees, former rebels, return to the fold and change their lives and no longer be part of the armed struggle is to have opportunities available to them. They can already feel the government in their communities,” Angara explained.

“The concept is really hard to argue with. The battle against insurgency is never just a battle of armed struggle. It’s also a battle for the hearts and minds of the people,” he stressed.

But Angara reiterated that the Senate had decided to slash the NTF-ELCAC’s proposed budget for 2022 by P24-billion due to its poor accounting of the funds given to it for the current fiscal year.

"The senators were not satisfied with that kind of accounting, how the funds were spent. We’d like to know what projects were funded because it’s a lump sum and the local government units (LGUs) would pick whether they want roads, water systems. We don’t know because we don’t have any information on these projects," he said.

Angara pointed out there was no report from the NTF-ELCAC on how it disbursed its 2021 budget.

"We want to see a good execution of a good concept," he added.

According to Angara, he has discussed the matter with National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, vice-chairman of the NTF-ELCAC, about the senators' position and the latter committed to comply with the Senate’s request.

“I told Secretary Esperon, to give us a good accounting because it’s a new project. We cannot just give you huge amounts of money and you have no accomplishment to speak of. We do that for all government agencies,” the lawmaker stressed.

Angara also downplayed the possibility that the anti-insurgency funds could be used by the present administration for the May 2022 national elections.

The lawmaker pointed out that under the program, the barangays are the ones choosing the programs that should be funded.