'Restore NTF-ELCAC budget for barangays', guvs to Senate

From the Philippine News Agency (Nov 22, 2021): 'Restore NTF-ELCAC budget for barangays', guvs to Senate

As local leaders nationwide continue to express their outrage and dismay over the move by senators to cut the budget of the Barangay Development Program (BDP) of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), three more governors and a mayor have voiced their concerns over the looming threat of the communist terrorist groups (CTGs) should these 2022 funds are denied.

At the weekly virtual NTF-ELCAC press briefing Monday, Eastern Samar Governor Ben Evardone lashed out at senators pushing for the BDP budget cut, saying they are just making political posturing as the next election nears.

“Para hindi sila magmukhang bad boy ililipat sa (To avoid being pictured as bad boys, they will transfer to) Covid-19 pandemic,” Evardone said, referring to some senator’s claims that it is better to transfer the BDP fund to fight the dreaded virus pandemic while the more than 50-year terrorism of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) continue to wreak havoc.

“Itong pandemic ng insurgency ay mas matagal na (This pandemic of insurgency has been with us for a very long time already),” Evardone added.

He said that during a consultative meeting, most of the residents of their 10 municipalities have become hopeful that progress will be theirs. However, when they learned of some senators’ move, one of the mayors moved that a resolution be issued declaring the senators who are against the BDP receive “zero votes” in their province.

“Sana nga sa bicam [Bicameral Conference Committee] maihabol ito at mairestore (We’re hoping it will be restored during the bicam),” he said.

Bohol Governor Arthur Yap, on the other hand, said they viewed the move to slash the budget of great concern, even if his province has yet to accept and receive the BDP fund next year.

“Sayang lang ang big investment ng national government for Bohol in tourism (It’s a pity if the national government's big investment for Bohol in tourism will come to naught),” Yap said, noting that BDP will help fix the road network of six critical barangays in his province.

Frustration and anger

Yap said while talking with various local leaders of Bohol, everyone expressed their frustrations and anger over the situation.

“Sabi nila kung ganyan pala ang ginagawa nila, yung mga Senators (As they said, if the senators will do that). They have the power right now to help us but they choose not to do so, then I think the people should know the governors, the mayors and our leaders must troop to the Senate and make our sentiments be heard. So, I’m ready to go if the other governors are going to the Senate. Please count me in,” he said.

Sustainability should not be hampered

For Davao Oriental Governor Nelson Dayanghirang, the 81 to 82 percent nearing completion of BDP projects in his province would go to naught if sustainability is hampered by the budget slash as this unique program was only implemented in this administration.

“This is the first time in the history na nabigyan pansin ng national ang mga pangangailangan ng ating mga kababayan na nasa laylayan, partikular sa mga nakatira sa malalayong lugar (that the national government gave attention to our countrymen in the far-flung areas),” Dayanghirang said.

He said if the BDP would be stopped, then the biggest casualty is the national government itself.

He described the BDP as the best long-term solution to the insurgency problem.

“Ito nga ang tinitingnan namin na pangmatagalan na solusyon na mabigyan sana ang mga pangangailangan ng taumbayan partikular doon sa conflict affected barangays po (We look at this as long-term solution to hopefully address the needs our countrymen particularly those in the conflict affected barangays,” he said.

He added: “Ako po ay nakikiusap sa ating mga Senador na huwag naman ninyong ipagdamot ang kapayapaan para sa bansang Pilipinas, huwag naman nating ipagdamot ang mga pangangailangan na matagal ng minimithi ng ating mga kababayan na maangkin nila (I am appealing to our senators not to spoil peace for the Philippines, let's not spoil the needs that our countrymen have long wanted them to have.”

‘Hear cries of people’

Meanwhile, Abra de Ilog Municipal Mayor Eric Constantino in Occidental Mindoro reported that his municipality is now facing the insurgency threat as the NPA headquarters, which was formerly based in Quezon and Laguna provinces, had been transferred in their area.

Constantino called on the senators “to have a second look” and “consider how effective” the NTF-ELCAC’s BDP is in providing far-flung communities of their basic needs.

He added that the NPA rebels are making “recovery efforts” to take back their province, composed mostly of Indigenous People (IP) communities.

“Hear the cries and clamor of the people (especially IPs). You will deny them the service which you have sworn into office,” Constantino warned senators who wanted to slash the BDP budget, adding that IPs are “the bulk of CPP-NPA-NDF recruitment.”

He said IP communities in his municipality have already felt the presence of the national government through the BDP including five of his “isolated” barangays of streetlights with solar-powered stations, ongoing potable water projects, classrooms, and upgrading of roads.

“Other barangays are hopeful that theirs will follow soon,” Constantino said, insisting that the move of some senators of slashing BDP budget “will devastate the fate of progress,” in his hometown.

BDP game-changer

Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya, NTF-ELCAC spokesperson on Local Government Affairs and BDP, said while they are still hoping that majority of the senators will support the BDP, in the end the department is happy to see and hear that the local officials of the land are voicing their sentiment over the issue, as they too continue to appeal for the passage of BDP budget in its “entirety”.

“BDP serves as a game-changer in our fight against local terrorism and communism,” he said. “There is a strong momentum on the part of the government in fighting against terrorism and if we slashed that PHP28.1 billion, it sends a wrong signal to our partner local government units under the National Task Force ELCAC who have now taken a strong stand together with the DILG and the rest of the NTF-ELCAC against Communist Terrorist Groups.”

He added that this is primarily the first time that the government is providing this large amount of funding from the government to disadvantaged and isolated areas across the country.

On the issue of slow implementation, Malaya said many simple projects were already completed, such as the distribution of seed capital, rice harvesters and livelihood projects, while those infrastructures such as farm-to-market roads and electrification projects would take more time because of the government’s compliance of Republic Act (RA) 9184 or the Procurement Act.

“It’s unfair to say na mababa ang accomplishment dahil sa mahaba-habang proseso (that accomplishment is slow because the process is a little big long) and timeline in accomplishing these projects. These are big ticket projects. At pangalawa po dumaan tayo sa pandemya. Hindi po nagpabaya ang NTF-ELCAC or ang mga (And secondly, we have gone through pandemic. The NTF-ELCAC or the local governments have not neglected) in implementing these projects the soonest possible time,” Malaya said.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1160557