Presidential aspirant and incumbent Vice President Leni Robredo was called a “joke,” “traitor,” and alleged “ally” of the Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army – National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) after she reiterated her call to abolish the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Undersecretary Lorraine Marie T. Badoy, who also serves as the NTF-ELCAC spokesperson for sectoral concerns, accused Robredo of giving “cover to the deadliest enemies of our country” by declaring her urge to disassemble the anti-communist task force created and headed by President Duterte.

“Leni Robredo is a joke. A most unfunny joke. She is also a grievous traitor to her country and must be exposed for the danger she presents to our democracy,” Badoy said in a strongly worded statement on Monday, Nov. 15.

In a press briefing in Batangas last week, Robredo mentioned that the NTF-ELCAC should be abolished since there was a “duplication of mandate” among government agencies, and its budget should be reallocated instead to the government’s coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic response.

This happened in the wake of the Senate’s decision to slash the 2022 budget of the NTF-ELCAC and its flagship project, the Barangay Development Program (BDP), from P28.12 billion to just P4 billion.

However, Badoy said that the NTF-ELCAC, which is composed of various government agencies, has been effective so far in implementing a “whole of government” approach to end the 52-year-old scourge of the CPP-NPA-NDF insurgency in the country.

“Leni Robredo, like the terrorists she dances with, wants the poorest of the poor to remain stuck in extreme and generational poverty by denying them their right to farm to market roads, adequate shelter, clean water, electricity, livelihood projects, school houses, irrigation systems, health centers, etc. that the BDP will give them,” she claimed.

The BDP is the flagship project of the NTF-ELCAC. Under this, a barangay that was "cleared" of communist influence is given a socio-economic development package amounting to P20 million.

Meanwhile, Badoy also hit Robredo’s call to resume the peace talks with the Reds, an effort which has repeatedly failed under the Duterte administration. Instead, “localized” peace talks or those done in the smallest of barangays, cities, municipalities, and provinces replaced the national talks.

“‘Peace talks’ for these deceitful terrorists is shorthand for ‘LET TERROR REIGN’ because for each and every time past presidents fell for this lie and negotiated with these communist terrorists, the recruitment of our children and our indigenous peoples into this terrorist organization experienced an exponential increase and the pile of bodies of our fallen soldiers and policemen reached stratospheric heights,” Badoy said.

“Yet this Vice President is eager to sit at the table and negotiate with terrorists once again,” she said.

The NTF-ELCAC spokesperson said that localized peace talks have been more effective as it allegedly resulted to the surrender of over 20,000 communists nationwide and their inclusion in the Enhanced - Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP).

Under the E-CLIP, former rebels are provided with cash incentives, housing, livelihood, and education by the national government through the intervention of relevant agencies so they can lead new lives.

“That’s over 20,000 Filipinos who are no longer killing fellow Filipinos,” Badoy said.

“And once again, the out-of-touch Vice President is left in the dust mumbling CPP propaganda lines while at the same time putting our country in serious danger. There are no other words for Leni Robredo, but this: a treasonous traitor to her country,” she said.

“For this and many more reasons, Leni Robredo must never be trusted with our country. Do not vote for this traitor. Do not vote for this ally of the terrorist CPP NPA NDF,” she added.

The camp of Robredo has yet to issue a response to Badoy’s tirades as of this writing.