Lt. Gen. Andres Centino, the newly installed Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), has issued his very first directive to the 150,000-strong military and that is to finish off the communist insurgency before President Duterte steps down from office in June 2022. Lt. Gen....
Senate Finance Committee chief Senator Sonny Angara on Friday said it is still too early to say whether or not the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) should be abolished. “I think it’s way too early to make that judgment for the NTF-ELCAC. (It) only started to...
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Friday urged newly-appointed Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Lt. Gen. Dionardo Carlos to review the PNP’s use of its anti-insurgency funds. Drilon challenged the incoming PNP leadership as he finds it suspicious that the PNP conducted about 13...
Senator Sonny Angara on Thursday, Nov. 11 rejected insinuations made by a colleague that the Senate could be seen as a supporter of the New Peoples’ Army (NPA) if the funding for the government’s anti-insurgency task force would suffer drastic cuts. Angara, during the continuation of the...
Accountability on the part of the Reds. (Mark Balmores/ File photo/ MANILA BULLETIN) This was the "one missing ingredient" in the failed peace process between the Philippine government and the communist insurgents, President Duterte claimed during a speech in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan on...
Opposition Senator Leila de Lima has urged Congress to look into the reported removal of books, pamphlets, research work or any reading material considered by the government as “subversive” from the libraries of state universities. In filing Senate Resolution No. 933, De Lima emphasized the...
Communist armed group the New People's Army (NPA) is no longer relevant to Filipinos. President Rodrigo Duterte speaks during the joint meeting of the NTF-RTF ELCAC in Region IV-A in Lucena City, Quezon Province on Oct. 21, 2021 (Malacañang photo) Thus, declared President Duterte on Thursday...
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is asking lawmakers for a P36-million budget for 2022 to support the government's anti-insurgency task force in its efforts against communist rebels. President Duterte listens to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana during a briefing at Bahay Malago inside...
Senator Leila de Lima has asked her colleagues to also investigate the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority’s (TESDA) utilization of its funds, after state auditors flagged its transfer of over P160 million to the government's anti-insurgency programs. Senator Leila de Lima...
The National Task Force to End Local Communist Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) was again put in the spotlight as lawmakers questioned Thursday, August 26, the necessity of increasing its funds amid the persisting problem of COVID-19. Gabriela Women's Party Representative Arlene Brosas, during the hybrid...
Senator Ronald ‘’Bato’’ dela Rosa on Wednesday, August 25, defended the continued funding for the government’s anti-insurgency program through the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC). Senator Bato De la Rosar Based on his personal experience in travelling...
The proposed budget increase for the government’s anti-communist task force, previously criticized for engaging in red-tagging and harassment of government critics, will be used for poverty alleviation and development projects, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said on Tuesday, August 24....