ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider NTF-ELCAC won't be abolished—Marcos

NTF-ELCAC won't be abolished—Marcos

Published May 16, 2024 10:52 am

At A Glance

  • Red-tagging refers to the labeling of individuals as communists or the malicious harassment of those criticizing or not fully supportive of the administration's policy. The latest Supreme Court decision said red-tagging threatens a person's right to life, liberty, or security.

President Marcos is firm that the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) will not be abolished, saying the anti-insurgency group does not red-tag anyone.

President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. (Malacañang photo)
President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. (Malacañang photo)

Marcos said this following renewed calls to abolish the NTF-ELCAC, which became controversial during the previous administration, after the Supreme Court said that red-tagging is a threat to one's life.

In an interview, the President defended the anti-insurgency taskforce, saying red-tagging is done by those outside the government.

"Bakit lagi niyong tinatanong sa akin 'yan? Wala namang dahilan kung bakit natin tatanggalin ‘yan (Why are you always asking me that? There's no reason to abolish it)," he told reporters in Cagayan de Oro City on Thursday, May 16.

"Ang sinasabi, dahil mayroon daw red-tagging na ginagawa. Hindi naman gobyerno gumagawa noon. Kung sinu-sinong iba ang gumagawa noon. (They said it's because of the red-tagging it is doing. The government is not red-tagging. It's someone else). Quite the opposite," he added.

Red-tagging refers to the labeling of individuals as communists or the malicious harassment of those criticizing or not fully supportive of the administration's policy. The latest Supreme Court decision said red-tagging threatens a person’s right to life, liberty, or security.

According to Marcos, because of the efforts of the NTF-ELCAC, the government is able to decrease internal security threats by helping the rebels who surrender to the government.

The group will only be abolished if the insurgency in the country is addressed.

"Tanggalin na natin ‘yan NTF-ELCAC pagka hindi na kailangan. Sa ngayon kailangan pa rin (We will abolish the NTF-ELCAC if we don't need it anymore. For now, we still do)," he said.

In 2018, former president Rodrigo Duterte issued Executive Order No. 70 which created the NTF-ELCAC as part of its "whole of government approach" to attain inclusive and sustainable peace in the country.

However, some of its former officials were deemed to be red-tagging. Last year, the Ombudsman reprimanded former NTF-ELCAC officials Lorraine Badoy and Antonio Parlade Jr. in an administrative case related to red-tagging human rights lawyers and members of various progressive groups.

Related Tags

Bongbong Marcos NTF-ELCAC Red-tagging President Marcos
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.