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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Castro bats for NTF-ELCAC abolition; wants budget allocated to other services

Castro bats for NTF-ELCAC abolition; wants budget allocated to other services

Published Jul 14, 2024 08:32 am

At A Glance

  • ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro is calling for the abolition of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and the reallocation of its budget to agencies that directly serve the people's needs.

FB_IMG_1704940608251.jpgACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro (Facebook)

ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro is calling for the abolition of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and the reallocation of its budget to agencies that directly serve the people's needs.

Castro, a deputy minority leader in the House of Representatives, said it would be far more beneficial to redirect NTF-ELCAC’s funds to programs that genuinely serve indigent communities.

In a statement on Sunday, July 14, the Makabayan solon stressed that the government has long been pouring billions into “an agency known for red-tagging and spreading disinformation”.

"It's high time we prioritize the real needs of our people over an agency that has consistently failed to deliver on its promises while endangering citizens through its harmful practices,” said Castro.

“Let's abolish the NTF-ELCAC and use its budget for the genuine service of the Filipino people,” she added.

The lawmaker noted that the task force has a dismal performance in its fund utilization and project implementation.

Citing a 2020 report from the Commission on Audit (COA), she pointed out that there were “incomplete documentation, low fund utilization and unutilized funds, unauthorized fund transfers and lack of guidelines on the use of funds” in NTF-ELCAC projects.

In one instance, the agency’s Barangay Development Program funds for 2021 was found to have an extremely low utilization rate of less than 50 percent, she said.

Castro also cited the recent Supreme Court (SC) ruling which deemed the practice of red-tagging as dangerous and called for its cessation.

"This ruling further underscores the need to abolish this agency and redirect its resources to more productive uses," she continued.

Established under Executive Order (EO) No. 70 by former president Rodrigo Duterte, the task force was formed to institutionalized a whole-of-nation approach in ending local communist armed conflicts.

However, human rights organizations have labeled the task force as a “notorious red-tagger” because of its supposed tendency to label dissenters as communist rebels.

Because of the agency’s “red flags”, Castro says the Marcos administration should “seriously reconsider the continued funding of the NTF-ELCAC”.

“The billions allocated to this agency could be better used to address pressing issues such as the fuel crisis in Occidental Mindoro, or to bolster our education and healthcare systems," she stressed.

Related Tags

abolition NTF ELCAC FRANCE CASTRO
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