Philippines
National
Amid reorganization rumors, NSA Carlos meets NTF-ELCAC Secretariat
Amid reorganization rumors, NSA Carlos meets NTF-ELCAC Secretariat
National Security Adviser (NSA) Clarita Carlos held a meeting with the Secretariat of the government’s anti-communist task force, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), on Thursday, July 7.
In a social media post by the NTF-ELCAC, it said that Carlos discussed the ongoing programs of the unit to address communist insurgency as well as the strategies to fortify them.
It said Carlos advised the task force “to build on the remarkable gains and accomplishments” that it has achieved under the previous administration.
“In addition, the task force was urged to enhance its processes, in particular improve its monitoring and evaluating mechanisms to spur movement towards reaching the end goal of the organization which is to finally achieve local peace, development, and security in the entire country,” the NTF-ELCAC said.
Relatedly, Deputy National Security Adviser-designate Rommel Banlaoi assured that the anti-communist task force will not be abolished under the present administration, contrary to the claims being made on social media.
Carlos’ meeting with the NTF-ELCAC Secretariat came as rumors of reorganization were floated by its former officials.
On social media, former NTF-ELCAC spokesperson Lorraine Badoy has been claiming that Carlos is “changing” the task force.
The task force is composed of 12 “national clusters,” each focused on a particular “line of effort” and headed by a spokesperson.
Badoy was a former NTF-ELCAC spokesperson for social media affairs and sectoral concerns.
Prior to this, Carlos and Badoy have expressed opposing views on red-tagging as the new NSA insisted that red-tagging should be stopped “because it makes no sense labeling people.” In response, Badoy argued that NTF-ELCAC was not engaged in red-tagging and Carlos must have been “misinformed.”
Despite its achievements in eradicating communist insurgency on the ground, the task force has often been criticized for red-tagging individuals who criticize the government, an issue that Carlos seemed to want to fix.