Senator Imee Marcos on Saturday scored United Nations Special Rapporteur Irene Khan for meddling in Philippine affairs by calling for the dismantling of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
Meanwhile, NTF-ELCAC chief Ernesto Torres Jr. asserted that the task force remains relevant in the on-going peace efforts of the government.
“After a mere 10 days in the Philippines, during which she never visited the NTF barangays but only met a chosen few witnesses, she has the knowledge and the right to tell the Philippine government what to do?” GMA News quoted Marcos as saying.
“Not only are these foreigners meddlesome and out of their depth, she has also threatened that the Philippines’ ambitious plan to lead the UN Commission on the Status of Women and obtain a seat on the UN Security Council depends on conforming with her findings. Why exactly did we invite her anyway?” the senator added.
During here exit press conference in Mandaluyong City on Feb. 2, Khan recommended the abolition of the NTF-ELCAC, saying its bases for creation were outdated.
“It does not take into account the ongoing prospects for peace negotiations. I, therefore, recommend that the task force should be abolished,” Khan said at a press conference on Thursday in Mandaluyong City.
Marcos also said Khan’s proposal was “hardly surprising, given her long-standing Amnesty International bias.”
To Marcos, dismantling the NTF-ELCAC would be “counter-productive, even dangerous” as thousands of rebels have peacefully returned to the fold of the law.
According to her, the government has practically won against the communist insurgency, with only about 1,800 rebels left as reported by the military and the police.
She underscored that it was important not only to retain the NTF-ELCAC, but also to strengthen its mandate to pursue the peaceful rehabilitation of rebel returnees.
Torres lamented that the NTF-ELCAC felt “betrayed” by Khan’s recommendation, saying she ”failed to recognized the government’s established and institutionalized mechanisms for anti-terrorism and peace efforts.”
“We strongly reject UNSR Irene Khan’s call for the abolition of the NTF-ELCAC. We take offense in her pronouncements against the Philippine government and the NTF-ELCAC,” Torres said in a statement.
During her 10-day intensive visit to the country, Khan met with multiple stakeholders and government officials, including those from the NTF-ELCAC.
Torres argued that the NTF-ELCAC “remains as the single most relevant task force in the Philippines” in addressing the local communist armed conflict.
“We will not allow any outsider to dictate us how to fight our wars and to dictate upon us the means to win the peace for our people. We have managed to succeed in our fight against insurgency and terrorism as a nation and as a people,” he said.
“This is something that cannot be hijacked nor be undermined by anyone. The NTF-ELCAC will continue to work for peace, unity, and development within the framework of justice and the rule of law,” Torres stressed.