Senator Sherwin Gatchalian raised the possibility of merging the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) to streamline ongoing peacebuilding efforts.
In a news release on Wednesday, Gatchalian said such a move would enhance operational efficiency since both share the common goal of promoting peace in the countryside. He made this comment during the budget hearing of OPAPRU.
“I fully support initiatives that would deliver peace in the countryside. But from a policy point of view, let’s look at how we can make the government more efficient by putting OPAPRU and NTF-ELCAC into one entity,” said Gatchalian, chair of the Senate Committee on Finance.
The senator pointed out that the two agencies share the same goal of promoting peace in the countryside, partly by delivering micro-infrastructure projects to barangays vulnerable to insurgency.
He cited a presentation by NTF-ELCAC earlier this month to justify its proposed budget for next year.
Merging the two agencies would create one agency that would be the focal point for issues relating to peace and order in the countryside, Gatchalian emphasized.
