MANILA – The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) on Tuesday urged the public to support government efforts to aid and repatriate overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) caught in the conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas.
"We express our heartfelt appreciation to our civil servants and the nameless individuals working passionately for the benefit of mankind at these trying times," NTF-ELCAC national secretariat executive director, Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr. said in a statement.
He also expressed hope that through cooperation with various sectors, the country can overcome this challenge and bring home the OFWs affected by the conflict.
Torres also called on Filipinos not to be swayed by acts of communist-linked groups who are taking advantage of the conflict to spread lies, fear and hatred among the people.
This is in response to claims made by militant groups that the government is slow to respond to the crisis.
"While our government and our embassies are working tirelessly to provide the needs, rescue and repatriation of our kababayans into safety; the Migrante/ILPS (International League of Peoples' Struggle) exploited this turmoil into an avenue to advance their international solidarity works (ISW), prioritizing their political agendas over our OFWs trapped in the conflict-areas. MI-ILPS took advantage of our OFWs' anguish and pinpointed the current migrant labor policies of our government as the cause of their sufferings," he added.
The task force also scored the group's remarks justifying the acts orchestrated by Hamas.
"Regrettably, this provocative action of Hamas has put in danger not only the citizens of Palestine or Israel but the entire Arab region as well. This event claimed 4,000 lives including four of our fellow Filipinos. This expression of support exposes the true colors of the CTGs (communist terrorist groups) and their anti-peace sentiments," Torres said.
"The CTGs always favored war over peace; the government has extended the hand of peace and reconciliation to them several times but they were too insincere enough to fulfill their commitment," he added.
The NTF-ELCAC also denounced all acts of terrorism and violence and stood with the observance of the International Humanitarian Law. (PNA)
