THE National Security Council (NSC) disclosed that President Marcos has ordered an increase in the budget of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) to P7.5 million per barangay.
NSC assistant director general Jonathan Malaya said the President directed the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to allocate an additional P5 million per barangay from the original P2.5 million, or a total of additional P4.32 billion from unprogrammed funds of the National Treasury.
The 864 recipient-barangays will get P7.5 million each in barangay development program funds.
“The President was not happy with the original P2.5 million per barangay in the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA), so he ordered the DBM to allocate the additional funds for this year. He said P2.5 million will hardly make an impact in terms of development, so he ordered the augmentation,” Malaya said.
Malaya also revealed that during the NTF-ELCAC executive committee meeting last Friday, the President expressed support for the P10 million per barangay allocation in the 2025 budget which is currently under deliberation in the Senate.
“The President noted that the NEP (National Expenditure Program) allocated P10 million per barangay for the next batch of recipient-barangays next year, and he hopes Congress will ensure that the final version of the 2025 GAA reflects this amount,” he said.
Malaya also said the Chief Executive approved the rehabilitation of the Batong-Buhay-Colayo Road in Pasil, Kalinga.
“The President said that government has to sustain development projects in all barangays cleared of communist insurgency influence so that the root causes of conflict are finally addressed,” according to Malaya.
He also said Mr. Marcos approved the new National Action Plan for Unity, Peace and Development (NAP-UPD) created by the NTF ELCAC.
Under the NAP-UPD, the government will pursue a national peace framework anchored on the principles of unity, peace and security, and socio-economic development.
The concept also calls on the government to advocate for positive peace and for programs to denounce violent extremism.
Under peace and security, local government units (LGUs) will take the lead in peace-building to ensure that the communist insurgency movement will be unable to operate, infiltrate, or influence any area in the country.
Malaya said under socio-economic development, the Barangay Development Program will be sustained in collaboration with LGUs.
“Once implemented, the end result is conflict-resilient and empowered communities nationwide,” Malaya said.
