House Deputy Speaker Rufus Rodriguez on Wednesday described calls to defund the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) after its –red-tagging on organizers of communist pantries as a “knee-jerk” reaction.

Rodriguez said he favors a proper review on how the NTF-ELCAC has utilized its P19-billion budget allocated for them for this year, but lawmakers should be careful in considering to cancel the budget of the anti-communist insurgency task force.

“That is a very knee-jerk reaction to what the head or the spokesman have said....There has to be a proper investigation,” Rodriguez said in an interview on ANC’s Headstart.

The lawmaker said Congress approved the budget for NTF-ELCAC based on their belief it would be better to bring money to more or less 800 far-flung communities in the country that the government is not able to reach before.

“And as far as Cagayan de Oro is concerned, the government does not fail in terms of being able to give (funds to) the DSWD and the city government," he said.

“But still despite of what we’re giving, the needs of our people are still there. So therefore, for those who are unable to get the aid from the government, precisely these community pantries are needed to be able to give to those who have not been served,” he pointed out.

The Cagayan De Oro Representative, however, said the gravity of the red-tagging activities of government authorities is affecting democratic processes in the country especially at a time of a COVID-19 pandemic where many people are going hungry.

Rodriguez said he hopes that the House of Representatives committee on justice will start hearing measures calling for an investigation into the reported red-tagging of community pantry organizers.

“The giving of food by citizens of this country is an act, which per se, is not illegal, and is not connected with any thing about ideology. This is giving food to those who are in need,” Rodriguez said.

“So instead of red-tagging or harassing them, the government should be able to support them and be able to say that yes, please continue, and we will protect you,” he pointed out.

“But what we have here is sort of a government being afraid that what is being done is communist-inspired....that is the psyche of the government...That’s why we should have this investigation,” he stressed.