House Minority Floor Leader Stephen Paduano said Friday, April 23, that he is pushing for an increase in the budget of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC ) for insurgency cleared barangays, amid calls from some lawmakers for its abolition.
The calls came after NTF-ELCAC spokesperson Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade was accused of red tagging community pantry organizers.
“We would want NTF-ELCAC officials to give details as to where and how the funds are being used and how their vilification tactics translate to having more communist rebels turning their backs on insurgency,” Deputy House Speaker Michael Romero said Friday.
“The rampant unlawful profiling and obvious red-tagging of organizers of community pantries by officials of the NTF-ELCAC are simply too wicked to be ignored by the members of this august chamber,” Romero said.
He warned that if NTF-ELCAC fails to substantiate its claims and justify the use of funds, Congress may realign its budget to more urgent needs.
Paduano said the P19 billion NTF-ELCAC budget, of which P20 million is allocated for the development of insurgency cleared barangays, is too small.
The congressman, who was a former rebel leader, said the budget only covers insurgency-free barangays but should also include barangays that have not been cleared to fast tract the end of the rebellion.
Paduano said he condemns the red tagging of the community pantries but it should not be used as a reason to abolish the NTF-ELCAC budget that is being used to aid residents in remote villages who have long been neglected.*