NTF-ELCAC eyes expanding barangay development funding to P40-B in 2022

Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año on Friday said that the anti-insurgency task force is seeking to expand its barangay development program funding to P40 billion in 2022.

At the Pre-SONA presser, Año said that after providing P20 million each to 822 barangays cleared of insurgents in 2021, the task force wanted to provide similar funding for 2,000 more barangays in 2022.

“Yes, that’s correct,” Año said, confirming that P40 billion will be the proposed budget of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) for its barangay development program.

“For 2022, we are recommending about 2,000 barangays for the support of barangay development program,” he added.

In 2021, the program received a total budget of P16.44 billion to develop 822 barangays.

According to him, the around 2,000 barangays are the remaining barangays, cleared from the influence of insurgency, that have not received the P20 million incentive yet.

The Barangay Development Program (BDP) is a flagship program to address insurgency by bringing sustainable solutions and basic services to concerned communities.

Many lawmakers questioned the fund due to the bigger allocation for Davao, the hometown of President Rodrigo Duterte, and the “red-tagging” statements of the task force’s spokespersons. https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/775915/solon-questions-p1-6-b-allocation-for-davao-city-of-ntf-elcac-s-budget/story/

Several lawmakers from the Senate and the House of Representatives sought to defund NTF-ELECAC because of the alleged red-tagging spree of its spokespersons against organizers of community pantries that aim to help those in need amid the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/784703/senators-eye-defunding-ntf-elcac-amid-red-tagging-of-community-pantry-organizers/story/

Most lawmakers said the budget should instead be realigned to the government's COVID-19 response to help more Filipinos who have been affected by the pandemic.

Some of them also called for an audit on how the NTF-ELECAC was spending its budget. — DVM, GMA News