Anti-Red tarps not ‘handiwork’ of NTF-ELCAC, spox Badoy says

The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF - ELCAC) has said it was not directly involved in the putting up of tarpaulins declaring communist rebels as persona non grata in Metro Manila.

In a statement issued Wednesday night, NTF - ELCAC spokesperson Undersecretary Lorraine Marie Badoy said that while the task force was not behind the posting of tarpaulins, it "fully supports and lauds this message of a people united in their disgust and rage against this communist terrorist group."

She pointed out that this was not the handiwork of the task force as an old and outdated logo of the NTF - ELCAC was used in the tarpaulin. The tarpaulin also bears the logo of the Philippine National Police.

Badoy claimed that this is the stand and sentiment of various localities, where a total of 20,058 local government units (60 provinces, 96 cities, 1,204 municipalities and 18,698 barangays) have issued resolutions declaring the Communist Party of the Philippines - New People's Army - National Democratic Front as persona non grata with no instigation from the task force.

"It is also not the place of the NTF-ELCAC to declare any entity as persona non grata but a declaration that can only come from the people themselves. And this includes the CPP- NPA-NDF," Badoy said.

"We are thus overjoyed that in clear and unequivocal terms, the people have spoken and made their will known: that the CPP-NPA-NDF is not welcome in their lives and on their land for all harm this violent extremist group has caused the most helpless, the most vulnerable in our midst like our indigenous peoples and our youth and the poorest of the poor," she added.

Badoy said the task force is hoping that there will come a day that the whole country will stand its ground and declare the group as persona non grata.

"Then and only then can we find comfort and joy knowing we are leaving to our children and future generations of Filipinos a country in much better shape than we found it, finally free from the grip of this evil, inhumane and obsolete ideology- communism," Badoy said.

Meanwhile, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año was also asked about which group could have posted the tarpaulins. He said it could be some groups who are supportive of the task force.

"There are a lot of groups naman na supportive sa ELCAC and anti-CPP-NPAso you cannot prevent those groups, even LGUs ano, LGUs in the provinces and cities... they already declared a lot of ano, they already declared the CPP-NPA-NDF persona non grata," he told reporters. 

Manila Mayor Isko Moreno has ordered the removal of the tarpaulins as he urged the public to spread love rather than hate in this period of health crisis. 

Asked if he would ask Moreno to bring back the tarpaulins, Año said: "The LGUs, meron silang sariling pag-iisip naman pero alam naman nila 'yan kung ano 'yung nararapat at hindi, so let them ano, let them decide... but I encourage them." — RSJ, GMA News