National Security Council (NSC) Assistant Director Jonathan Malaya on Friday explained it is not the right time to abolish the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
“It would not be proper at this time to abolish the National Task Force-ELCAC,” Malaya said.
Malaya further defended that the task force has been a game-changer to the government’s approach against communist terrorism.
“The National Task Force Elcac has been the game-changer in our government’s fight against the communist terrorism,” Malaya said.
“Please take note that this is a 52-year-old running insurgency… and now that we have reached this stage in the campaign, we feel that it’s improper to call for its abolition and it would be best, if necessary, to undertake the transition,” he added.
Malaya, however, assured that NTF-ELCAC is open to reform to keep up with the current administration’s peacebuilding efforts.
“During the meeting when we discussed the status of the NTF-ELCAC, we assured her that we were open to reform. And we assured her that given the new tone of the current administration, there is an opportunity here for transformation,” said Malaya.
Earlier, United Nations Special Rapporteur Irene Khan’s recommendation to abolish the task force cited it as outdated.
“NTF-ELCAC was established about six years ago in a different context. It is outdated. It does not take into account the ongoing prospects for peace negotiations,” Khan said.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte founded NTF-ELCAC in 2018 to end the “local armed communist conflict” in the nation.
Since then, it has faced numerous accusations of red-tagging individuals.