All departments, bureaus, offices, agencies, and instrumentalities of the government will now have a peace and development office (PMO) to institutionalize the implementation of the programs of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
National Security Adviser Eduardo Año (File photo)
National Security Adviser (NSA) Eduardo Año said President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has approved the activation of PMOs in all government units.
“The President’s approval in activating peace and development offices will bolster the whole of nation approach to peace and development to ensure that government projects are immediately implemented in barangays cleared of NPA [New People’s Army] influence,” Año, who is also the vice chairperson of NTF-ELCAC, said on Tuesday, July 18.
“The activation of PMOs bolsters the determination of the task force to ensure that social services and other government programs and projects reach these communities and bring about positive developments and provide solutions to the problems of Filipinos across the country, particularly those who are living in underprivileged communities battered by armed conflicts,” he added.
The Barangay Development Program (BDP) is the flagship project of the NTF-ELCAC.
It is directed to the sustainable rehabilitation and development of 822 barangays which are formerly established as guerilla fronts of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), NPA, and National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).
Each of the identified barangays is provided with a funding worth P20 million pesos for the implementation of development projects including farm to market roads, school buildings, water and sanitation systems, health stations, rural electrification, housing, as well as livelihood projects.
Based on the NTF-ELCAC’s website, there were a total of 2,319 BDP projects since 2021 and 43.47 percent has already been completed as of July 3, 2023.
Meanwhile, the remaining projects are either “on-going”, under procurement, or the documents are still being prepared for its implementation.
Año said that the approval for the creation of PMOs “is a significant move” since the task force has already attained a “strategic victory” over the CPP-NPA-NDF as most of the guerilla fighters have already been decimated.
According to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the NPA’s strength has been reduced to 1,800 fighters at present from a peak of 24,000 in the 1980s.
About 75 percent of all guerilla fronts have been dismantled as 22 of the original 89 fronts are still existing. Of the 22 remaining fronts, 21 have already been “weakened” and they are now the subject of focused military operations and development efforts by the NTF-ELCAC.
The CPP, along with its armed wing NPA, has been waging an insurgency for over 50 years already.
Año said he directed Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr., NTF-ELCAC executive director, to coordinate with all line agencies of the government for the implementation of the President’s directive to create PMOs.
“This approval demonstrates confidence and trust by the President of the integrity, commitment, and dedication of the task force to good governance and public service,” he noted.