DIALOGUE. Former communist rebels at the halfway house in Barangay Mahayag, Davao City, get the opportunity to engage in a dialogue National Security Adviser Clarita Carlos, Department of National Defense officer-in-charge Undersecretary Jose Faustino Jr., and National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict officials on Thursday (August 11, 2022). The former NPA cadres called for the continuation of the NTF-ELCAC. (PNA photo by Che Palicte)
DAVAO CITY – Former communist cadres here have called for the continuity of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), citing the program's contributions in the fight against insurgency.
“Before, we were clamoring and fighting for the government to help the poor, indigenous people. Through the NTF ELCAC, all agencies are now working, providing social services to the marginalized,” Pedro Arnado, former chairperson of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas in Southern Mindanao, said during Thursday afternoon’s dialogue with top government peace officials.
Present during the dialogue at the halfway house for the former rebels were National Security Adviser Clarita Carlos, Department of National Defense officer-in-charge Undersecretary Jose Faustino Jr., and NTF-ELCAC officials.
NTF-ELCAC was created by Executive Order 70 in 2018, which aims to “provide an efficient mechanism and structure for the implementation of the whole-of-nation approach to aid in the realization of collective aspirations for inclusive and sustainable peace.”
Arnado said they are living witnesses of how NTF-ELCAC changed their lives, a far cry from when they were still affiliated with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF).
Joy “Ka Amihan” Saguino, former secretary of the NPA's Guerilla Front 20 in Southern Mindanao, shared Arnado's sentiment, noting how NTF-ELCAC’s “whole of nation” approach became the turning point for the government's quest to end the communist insurgency.
EO 70, she said, harmonizes the delivery of basic services and social development packages in conflict-affected communities that are vulnerable to rebel influence.
“The campaign of the government was strengthened. If there are no social services, there is insurgency,” she said.
Former cadres, she said, remain optimistic that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will continue the NTF ELCAC “since it has been a successful program based on its accomplishments.”
Meanwhile, Arian Jane Ramos, former secretary of NPA’s Guerilla Front 55, also based in Southern Mindanao, said among the NTF-ELCAC’s accomplishments is the dismantling of several NPA units in Davao Region.
“We must participate in a systematic education and thorough awareness of communism and how it can significantly affect our national security as well as the future of our children and our children’s children,” Ramos said.
Ramos also urged the other former members of the NPA to “expose the truth, to rescue the deceived and exploited youth.”
Carlos, on the other hand, assured the former rebels that they will continue the NTF-ELCAC program.
“Without any doubt, this is going to be continued,” she said. (PNA)
