SEN. Imee Marcos yesterday slammed the “supremely presumptuous” call of UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan to dismantle the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict during her exit press conference last Friday.
“After a mere 10 days in the Philippines, during which she never visited the NTF barangays but only met a chosen few witnesses, she has the knowledge and the right to tell the Philippine government what to do?” Marcos asked.
She said Khan’s call was “hardly surprising, given her long standing Amnesty International bias.”
“Not only are these foreigners meddlesome and out of their depth, she has also threatened the Philippines’ ‘ambitious’ plan to lead the UN Commission on the Status of Women, and obtain a seat on the UN Security Council depends on conforming with her ‘findings.’ Why exactly did we invite her anyway?” she added.
Marcos said dismantling the NTF-ELCAC at this time would be “counter-productive, even dangerous” as thousands of rebels have peacefully returned to the folds of the law.”
“The government has practically won against the communist insurgency, with only about 1,800 rebels left, according to our military and police. It is important that we maintain the NTF-ELCAC’s presence and strengthen its mandate to continue the peaceful rehabilitation of rebel returnees,” she said.
Khan has recommended the abolition of the “outdated” NTF-ELCAC, noting that its foundations have already changed, noting that it has not taken into consideration the peace negotiations sought by President Marcos Jr. with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.
“NTF -ELCAC was established about six years ago in a different context. It is outdated. It does not take into account the ongoing prospects of peace negotiations,” Khan said in a press conference last Friday.
NTF-ELCAC was created during the time of former President Rodrigo Duterte through Executive Order No. 70.
Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel III agreed with the recommendation to abolish the NTF-ELCAC.
“I have noticed that NTF-ELCAC funds have been very difficult to liquidate with COA (Commission on Audit). This is my additional reason for agreeing to its abolition,” Pimentel said.
Several senators, however, did not agree with Khan’s recommendation, saying its gains should be sustained.
Meanwhile, AFP chief of staff Romeo Brawner commended the 10th Infantry Division for keeping Davao region “insurgency-free” for the past one year and three months, saying it is right on track to dismantle the remaining guerilla fronts.
“Sa 10ID, we have been the model in the campaign against the Red Area or the armed groups of the CPP-NPA-NDF (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front). In fact, this is the area where we first declared that the whole region is insurgency-free,” Brawner said in a mix of Filipino and English during his talk with troops in Mawab, Davao de Oro last Saturday.
