NTF-ELCAC will continue, Año says despite call for abolition

The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) will stay, the task force’s vice chairperson National Security Adviser Eduardo Año has said.

Año turned down the call of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) to dismantle the government’s anti-insurgency task force amid the forthcoming resumption of peace negotiations between the government and the communist rebels.

“That will not happen,” Año told GMA News Online in a message Wednesday night.

“The NTF ELCAC will continue all its activities and programs of ensuring delivery of government basic services and barangay development programs to far flung areas and protect the communities through continued military operations and law enforcement,” he added.

The Philippine government and the NDFP earlier agreed to resume the stalled peace negotiations. Their representatives signed a joint statement for "a principled and peaceful resolution to the armed conflict."

In line with this, the NFDP said that the abolition of the NTF-ELCAC will be addressed in the coming negotiations with the Philippine government.

On November 15, A United Nations (UN) expert on human rights and the environment also recommended the abolition of the NTF-ELCAC, as he claimed that it is operating with “impunity.”

UN Special Rapporteur Dr. Ian Fry said the administration should “disband” the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and develop another approach to countering the country’s insurgency issues.

“The NTF-ELCAC, I just get a sense it has moved beyond its mandates and usefulness and needs to be disbanded outright and the government needs to develop another approach to deal with the terrorism issues,” Fry said at a media briefing.

“But it’s clear that this unit, it is operating with impunity and therefore needs to be abandoned,” he added.

But the NTF-ELCAC took exception to Fry's call and report which the agency said is “deemed incomplete.”

“We wish to assure him that the NTF-ELCAC is a working and effective human rights mechanism founded on the principles of good and inclusive governance and we could have helped him define it in his study,” the NTF-ELCAC said in a statement.

“Clarity in context is required to enrich his report and render the same relevant,” it added.

‘Internal mechanism’

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla has also dismissed the UN expert's call.

“Internal mechanism ‘yun sa gobyerno natin. Wag sila makikialam dito. Huwag sila makikialam kung paano natin gustong patakbuhin ang ating gobyerno,” Remulla said when asked for a comment.

(That is the internal mechanism of our government. They should not interfere. They shouldn’t meddle in how we run our government.)

“Kung gusto nila mag salita freedom of speech, sige. Pero kailangan ko ba sumunod sa kanila? Kailangan ba natin sumunod sa kanila?” he asked.

(If they want to talk about freedom of speech, fine. But do I have to follow? Do we have to follow them?)

“Ang tingin natin ito ang solusyon para matigil na ang paglaganap ng komunismo sa ating bayan, ang paghahasik ng lagim sa ating mga kapaligiran,” he added.

(We think this is the solution to end the proliferation of communism in our country and the sowing of horror around us.) — RSJ, GMA Integrated News