NegOcc officials support P19-B NTF-ELCAC budget for 2021

From the Philippine News Agency (Nov 17, 2020): NegOcc officials support P19-B NTF-ELCAC budget for 2021 (By Nanette Guadalquiver)

BACOLOD CITY – Officials in three local government units of Negros Occidental have expressed support for the inclusion of the proposed PHP19-billion allocation for the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) in the 2021 budget.

They issued their support through the Philippine Army’s 79th Infantry Battalion based in northern Negros.

On Tuesday, Mayor Manuel Escalante III of Manapla said in a statement that the approval of the budget will ultimately help in ending the long-running communist insurgency and armed conflict in the country.

“When there is peace and order, there is progress…With this, I strongly manifest my full support to the passage of the proposed PHP19 billion budget,” he added.

Mayor Melecio Yap Jr. of Escalante City said the approval of the funding will provide the widest opportunity to “once and for all end local terrorism” and “instill peace and order in the locality, which is necessary for inclusive and sustainable development”.

“We have made significant progress since we have actively started this noble cause hence, our hope and prayer to sustain the effort and see through a fruitful conclusion in the near future.” Yap added.

He also said that combined efforts will significantly contribute to the government’s common goals for poverty alleviation, economic productivity, equitable distribution of resources and benefits, peaceful and environmentally-sound community.

On Sept. 21, 2019, some 2,510 former rebels and members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) surrendered to the government as part of the North Negros Peace Summit held at the Escalante City Coliseum.

In San Carlos City headed by Mayor Renato Gustilo, the City Council, presided by Vice Mayor Christopher Paul Carmona, passed a resolution on Nov. 12 “manifesting support and approval (for) the proposed PHP19-billion budget for NTF-ELCAC development projects”.

They acknowledged that NTF-ELCAC, formed through Executive Order 70 issued by President Rodrigo Duterte, "has the primary objective to promote development in areas with ongoing insurgency problems to eradicate poverty, which is the root cause of insurgency itself, and to fund the development of selected areas in the city that used to be infested with communist rebels.”

Under the proposed 2021 national budget, PHP19 billion is allocated for the NTF-ELCAC, of which PHP16.4 billion is intended to develop barangays cleared of NPA influence, including those in northern Negros.

Development projects will include farm-to-market roads and livelihood, as part of confidence-building measures to prevent the recurrence of the insurgency problem.

The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1122073