PRESIDENT Marcos Jr has ordered the allocation of P4.32 billion in additional funds to the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) to finance development projects in barangays affected by the insurgency for this year.
The additional budget will be sourced from unprogrammed funds of the National Treasury, said National Security Council (NSC) Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya.
The new budget represents a P5-million increase for each of the 864 barangay beneficiaries, which were allocated only P2.5 million each under the 2024 national budget.
The increase means the barangay beneficiaries will receive P7.5 million for this year under the NTF-ELCAC’s Barangay Development Program (BDP)
“The President was not happy with the original P2.5 million per barangay in the 2024 General Appropriations Act so he ordered the DBM (Department of Budget and Management) to allocate the additional funds for this year,” said Malaya.
“He said that P2.5 million will hardly make an impact in terms of development so he ordered the augmentation,” added Malaya.
The President is chairman of the NTF-ELCAC.
The BDP is a flagship project of the NTF-ELCAC. Over 4,000 projects have been implemented since its inception in 2021, according to the task force.
The NTF-ELCAC said the BDP “aims to improve the quality of life in communities affected by local communist armed conflict by delivering essential services and socio-economic development projects.”
Malaya also disclosed that the President, during NTF-ELCAC’s executive committee meeting last Friday, expressed support to increasing the allocation to P10 million for next year.
“The President noted that the NEP (National Expenditure Program) allocated P10M per barangay for the next batch of recipient barangays next year and he hopes Congress will ensure that the final version of the 2025 GAA reflects this amount,” said Malaya.
Meanwhile, Malaya defended the President’s decision to include the Coordinating Council of Private Education Associations (COCOPEA) as a member of the NTF-ELCAC.
Militant groups have described the decision as an encroachment on academic freedom, and said it could lead to repression of critical thought.
Malaya said the President merely wanted to ensure that schools will be safe from “terror-groomers” or similar individuals who recruit students for armed struggle, take up arms, or instigate violence against the government.
“Schools are supposed to be safe spaces for learning and free expression and should be free from violence, extremism, or radicalization at all times,” said Malaya.
“Students are there to learn and to contribute to society in a meaningful way. That is the purpose why the President approved the inclusion of the COCOPEA as a partner-institution of NTF-ELCAC,” added Malaya.
