PRES. MARCOS JR. ASSURES NOT TO ABOLISH NTF-ELCAC

May 17, 2024 Metro BLISTT

BAGUIO CITY

President Ferdinand E. Marcos Jr disclosed in an interview with reporters during his visit here, Marcos said NTF-ELCAC has done more to curb the number of communist rebels through the whole- of- government approach.
“What is the reason for abolishing ELCAC? Because of red-tagging? But it is not the government that is redtagging,” the President told reporters here during an ambush interview Malacanang Palace journalists.

“Red-tagging” is the act of identifying individuals or organizations perceived to have associations with communist rebels under the New People’s Army and its political wings, the Communist Party of the Philippines, and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines. Marcos said the NTFELCAC has been instrumental in giving rebel surrenderers a second chance by providing them livelihood assistance through concerned government agencies.

The NTF-ELCAC was created through Executive Order 70 in 2018 by then President Rodrigo Duterte, which institutionalized the government’s “whole-of nation” approach to tackling the country’s communist rebellion. Regional, provincial, city, municipality, and barangay ELCAC task forces have been formed to implement the NTFELCAC’s mission at the local level.

(PNA)