No wholesale prosecution under NTF-ELCAC

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 15, 2022): No wholesale prosecution under NTF-ELCAC (By Benjamin Pulta)

Indiscriminate persecution of political dissenters was not and will never be among the plans of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

In a press briefing on Friday shortly after the executive committee meeting of the task force, formed in 2018 by the Duterte administration to end communism and institute peace-building initiatives, Assistant Solicitor General Angelita Miranda said the law would not be used to go after critics, so long as there are no violations.

"In criminal law, there should be an overt act. As long as you don't have an overt act, even how evil your mind is, if there is no overt act, you cannot be prosecuted," Miranda told the media at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

Even under the Anti-Terror Act of 2020, anybody is safe so long as the evil mind is not converted into action, added Miranda, who heads the task force's legal cluster.

National Security Adviser Clarita Carlos, who was also at the meeting, said in previous interviews that she is in favor of the continuation of the NTF-ELCAC.

She expressed her desire to continue negotiations with the insurgents while focusing on education, livelihood, and bringing more opportunities to residents of conflict-affected areas.

Most Filipinos also support the continued operation of the task force, according to the PAHAYAG 2022 Second Quarter Survey published by PUBLiCUS Asia, Inc. on June 8.

A June 16-22 survey found that 56 percent of 1,500 respondents "approve or strongly approve" of the NTF-ELCAC's continuation.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1179022