NCIP exec says NTF ELCAC weakened CPP-NPA influence on IPs

From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 24, 2021): NCIP exec says NTF ELCAC weakened CPP-NPA influence on IPs

The national anti-insurgency task force established by President Rodrigo Duterte has curbed the "influence and control" of the communist rebel movement on Indigenous Peoples (IPs), an official of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) said Wednesday.

Lawyer Dexter Precioso, legal officer for NCIP-Region 10 (Northern Mindanao), said the clout of the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (CPP-NPA), has weakened since 2018 when President Duterte signed Executive Order 70 (EO 70).

EO 70 seeks to institute a "whole of government" approach in addressing the communist insurgency. It also established the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF ELCAC) in every region, whose clusters are tasked with initiating various development initiatives in geographically isolated areas and disadvantaged, conflict-affected places in the countryside.

"Before this whole-of-nation approach, the government was not as aggressive in informing (the IPs of) its accomplishments, programs, and projects. They (IPs), especially those in the far-flung areas, did not know that the government is implementing certain programs such as free legal services from the Public Attorney’s Office,” Precioso said.

In contrast, the NCIP official said the IP communities "are now being armed with the knowledge that the government is doing its best to serve its people and the far-flung communities."

Precioso said the NCIP is currently implementing strategies to further raise awareness on government programs and help spur development in IP communities.

Led by chairperson Allen Capuyan, the NCIP recently conducted a 14-day visit in various ancestral domains in the region to dialogue with tribal leaders and obtain their inputs on prevailing issues affecting the tribes.

Precioso said the NCIP is currently strengthening the IP governance to promote the indigenous political structure to enable the tribes to govern their communities effectively.

“We now make sure that the efforts of the government are visible to the people. The government exists, and the government cares for the people,” Precioso said.

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/1131728