PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s refusal to abolish the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) only shows he is no different from his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, a senatorial candidate of the militant Makabayan bloc said yesterday.
National Security Council Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya on Wednesday said Marcos, task force chairman, “will never abolish the NTF-ELCAC” and even wants it to sustain its efforts to end the communist insurgency,
Malaya issued the statement after the Gabriela Women’s Party filed a formal complaint with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) against the agency for its alleged relentless red-tagging activities, which the party said violate election laws prohibiting partisan political activities by government agencies.
“Marcos is no different from Duterte. His refusal to disband the NTF-ELCAC, despite its documented human rights violations and partisan political activities, shows that this administration remains committed to the same tactics that terrorize activists, progressive organizations, and ordinary citizens,” Rep. Arlene Brosas (PL, Gabriela) said yesterday.
She also said it is unacceptable for Marcos to continue the operations of an agency which she said is being used to red-tag progressive organizations. “Instead of addressing the people’s problems, public funds is being used for witch-hunting and political persecution),” she said in Filipino.
Brosas said that during a campaign sortie in Tuguegarao, Cagayan, one of her supporters was able to retrieve black propaganda materials labeling her as a terrorist, and urging voters not to support her candidacy.
She said billions of pesos are being allocated to the NTF-ELCAC’s operations, including the P10 million per barangay under its Barangay Development Program, while essential social services remain severely underfunded.
“The NTF-ELCAC is clearly being maintained to appease the military establishment at the expense of people’s rights and welfare. Instead of addressing the root causes of armed conflict – poverty, landlessness, and social injustice – this administration chooses to perpetuate a militarist approach that has only resulted in more human rights violations,” she said.
Brosas called on the public to remain vigilant against what she called “state-sponsored attacks on democratic rights and to join the growing calls to abolish the NTF-ELCAC.”
“Women will not be fazed. We will continue to fight for the rights of the people, especially for the women victimized by the NTF-ELCAC,” she said.
