Duterte names retired colonel to task force to end local communist armed conflict

From Tempo (Mar 31, 2019): Duterte names retired colonel to task force to end local communist armed conflict

President Duterte has appointed retired Col. Allen Capunan as executive director of the National Secretariat of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.

Duterte signed Capuyan’s appointment paper on March 25. He was previously Duterte’s adviser for indigenous people’s concerns in April 2018.

He was also once an official of the Manila International Airport Authority but later on resigned from his post in March 2018.

Capuyan was accused of providing tariff codes that gave smugglers of the P6.4-billion shabu shipment in May 2017 access to the green lane or express lane, which exempts shipments from X-ray inspection.

He was also allegedly the one behind the wiretapping scandal under the administration of President now House Speaker Gloria M. Arroyo. He was said to have monitored those they believed to be part of the opposition.

The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict seeks to address causes of armed conflict on the local level by ensuring the provision of social services, employment opportunities, and improved quality of life in communities affected by armed communist conflict.

The task force, which was created in December 2018 and falls under the Office of the President, is chaired by Duterte and vice-chaired by National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr.

http://tempo.com.ph/2019/03/31/duterte-names-retired-colonel-to-task-force-to-end-local-communist-armed-conflict/