President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has approved the designation of 17 of his appointees as Cabinet Officers for Regional Development and Security (CORDS) for the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) to further intensify the administration’s fight against insurgency.
The newly-designated CORDS include the following:
• NCR – Department of Migrant Workers Sec. Maria Susana Ople
• CAR – Department of Transportation Sec. Jaime Bautista
• Region I – Department of Agrarian Reform Sec. Conrado Estrella III
• Region II – Department of Trade and Industry Sec. Alfredo Pascual
• Region III – Department of Social Welfare and Development Sec. Rexlon Gatchalian
• Region IV-A – Department of Justice Sec. Jesus Crispin Remulla
• Region IV-B – Department of Information and Communications Technology Sec Ivan John Uy
• Region V – Department of Labor and Employment Sec. Bienvenido Laguesma
• Region VI – Department of Energy Sec. Raphael Perpetuo Lotilla
• Region VII – Department of Tourism Sec. Maria Esperanza Cristina Frasco
• Region VIII – Department of the Interior and Local Government Sec. Benhur DC Abalos Jr.
• Region IX – Department of Public Works and Highways Sec. Manuel Bonoan
• Region X – Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Sec. Jose Rizalino Acuzar
• Region XI – Presidential Assistant for Eastern Mindanao Sec. Leo Tereso Magno
• Region XII – Department of Environment and Natural Resources Sec. Ma. Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga
• CARAGA – National Commission on Indigenous Peoples Sec. Allen Capuyan
• BARMM – Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity Sec. Carlito Galvez
The Cabinet officers were designated “to lead the Joint Regional Task Forces (JRTF)-ELCAC to oversee the peace and development efforts in every region of the country,” said Director Mario Jose Chico, directorate for strategic communications of NTF-ELCAC.
“The designated CORDS shall facilitate the management of the Whole-of-Nation approach and Whole-of-Government participation and shall champion good governance in order to attain inclusive and sustainable peace,” Chico said.
“They shall assist in articulating the region’s concerns and perceptions in the Cabinet, with the other Departments, the Office of the President and concerned agencies. The CORDS shall likewise preside over joint meetings of the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) and the Regional Development Council (RDC) to harmonize peace, security and development efforts in their assigned regions,” he added.
The list of Cabinet officers were recommended by the NTF-ELCAC Executive Committee during a meeting presided by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin back in May.
The government has ramped up its drive to end the more than five decades long insurgency problem in the country.
According to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), it has achieved a “strategic” victory over the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), as majority of the guerillas have already been neutralized.
Only one active guerilla front of the CPP-NPA remains active from the previous five active fronts towards the latter part of 2022, with around 1,800 active fighters remaining in its force.