National Security Adviser Eduardo M. Año called out a United Nations expert who reportedly recommended for the abolition of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) based on allegations of violations against environmental human rights defenders.

Año, who also serves as the vice chairman of the anti-communist task force, said the NTF-ELCAC "takes strong exception" to the call made by Dr. Ian Fry, a UN Special Rapporteur on human rights who is visiting the country to look at its current human rights and climate change situation.

"Fry, in his capacity as a UNSR on a country visit, has been given the freedom to move and inquire on matters related to his mandate. But apparently, due to reasons beyond us, he has not exercised this to its full potential," Año said in a statement Wednesday, Nov. 15.

According to reports, Fry urged the national government to abolish the task force after he met with several civil society organizations (CSOs) and indigenous people's organization (IPOs) that told him about the NTF-ELCAC's history of red-tagging activists and critics of the government.

The NTF-ELCAC was created in 2018 under the previous Duterte administration to institutionalize a whole-of-government approach in addressing communist rebellion in the country.

The task force, however, became controversial after some of its officials at the time tagged leftist lawmakers, journalists, human rights organizations, and even organizers of community pantries during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic as communist rebels.

The NTF-ELCAC has since been administered by a new set of officers when the present Marcos administration came in 2022.

Consultation

Año said Fry should have raised his concerns with the NTF-ELCAC itself "in the interest of fairness and justice."

"Sadly, even if he had issues on the NTF ELCAC that are relevant to his report, he did not find time to do so," Año noted.

Año assured Fry that the NTF-ELCAC "is a working and effective human rights mechanism" that was "founded on the principles of good and inclusive governance."

Año said the NTF-ELCAC could have helped Fry in his observation and provided valuable inputs on how the task force "has brought peace and development in far-flung communities, many of which are indigenous cultural communities greatly affected by the impact of climate change, apart from being victims of violent extremists and terrorists."

"Relatedly, we could have assisted him in engaging with our stakeholders who are peace and human rights stakeholders and defenders," Año said.

"We could have informed him of the NTF-ELCAC’s flagship programs, advocacies, and thrusts to achieve genuine peace, unity and development, especially in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas that once served as hotbeds of communist terrorism," he added.

'Incomplete report'

Año said that in the absence of a "clarificatory engagement" with the NTF-ELCAC, Fry's report "must be deemed incomplete."

"Clarity in context is required to enrich his report and render the same relevant," he noted.

Nonetheless, Año invited Fry in a dialogue as the UN expert marked the last day of his visit on Nov. 15. Fry has been in the country since Nov. 6.

"Reiterating that Fry has had a very limited time in his visit, we extend an open invitation to him for a dialogue in the near future before he finalizes his report," Año said.

"We would consider his acceptance of this offer as an indication to truly preserve the integrity of his mandate to engage States on matters of human rights in an inclusive, impartial, and non-discriminatory manner," he added.