BRIEFING. Visayas Command commander Lt. Gen. Benedict Arevalo (left) and deputy commander Commodore Oscar Canlas Jr. hold a briefing on Friday (Feb. 9, 2024). Arevalo cited the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) contribution to win the people's trust in the government's campaign against communism. (Photo courtesy of Visayas Command)
CEBU CITY – Localized peace dialogues organized by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) are a big boost in gaining the people’s trust in the government, an Army official said Friday.
Visayas Command chief, Lt. General Benedict Arevalo, said the task force empowers citizens to take the lead to pursue their community’s peace and development.
“Much of what we have accomplished is attributed to the Task Force through its peace dialogue mechanism, community development initiatives, and local government empowerment endeavors,” he said in a statement following calls from the United Nations special rapporteur for expression and opinion to abolish NTF-ELCAC for being outdated.
Arevalo underscored during the campaign briefing the need for a platform for the whole-of-government approach in solving the decades-old insurgency problem.
Through localized peace dialogues of NTF-ELCAC, a total of 218 former
members of the New People’s Army surrendered in 2023. They also yielded 196 firearms.
Last month, 14 rebels also returned to the folds of the law and yielded eight firearms, he added.
The task force’s Enhanced Comprehensive Localized Integration Program (E-CLIP) helped former rebels to smoothly transition and reintegrate into mainstream society.
Arevalo said the 562 Barangay Development Projects in the former NPA-infested communities in the entire Visayas region that have already been completed have put a permanent closure on issues raised against the government. (PNA)
