National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict

The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) is a task force organized by the government of the Philippines in 2018 as part of its "Whole-of-Nation approach" to respond to and raise awareness about ongoing communist armed conflicts in the Philippines, after the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte formally terminated peace talks between the Philippine government and the New People's Army in November 2017.

Background


The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) was formed on December 4, 2018, pursuant to Executive Order No. 70 issued by President Rodrigo Duterte which institutionalized the government's "whole-of-nation" approach in tackling the ongoing communist rebellion in the Philippines led by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People's Army (NPA). The "whole-of-nation" approach is contrasted to prior policy which favored irregular peace talks with communist rebels. The executive order was announced to the public on December 10.

The formation of the NTF-ELCAC followed the formal termination of peace talks between the Philippine government and the NPA when President Rodrigo Duterte issued Presidential Proclamation 360 on November 23, 2017, citing continued attacks by the NPA despite the then ongoing peace negotiations. The CPP and NPA were likewise formally designated as terrorist organizations by the government.

Composition
The NTF-ELCAC is composed of 12 operational clusters or lines of effort administered by various relevant government agencies:


 * Basic Services Cluster
 * E-CLIP and Amnesty Program Cluster
 * Infrastructure, Resource Management and Employment Cluster
 * International Engagement Cluster
 * Legal Cooperation Cluster
 * Local Government Empowerment Cluster
 * Localized Peace Engagement Cluster
 * Peace, Law Enforcement and Development Support Cluster
 * Poverty Reduction, Livelihood and Empowerment Cluster
 * Sectoral Unification, Capacity Building Empowerment and Mobilization Cluster
 * Situational Awareness and Knowledge Management Cluster
 * Strategic Communication Cluster

Regional (RTF-ELCAC), provincial (PTF-ELCAC), city (CTF-ELCAC), municipality (MTF-ELCAC), and barangay (BTF-ELCAC) task forces have been formed to implement at the local level the NTF-ELCAC's whole-of-nation approach.

Campaign against suspected front organizations
The NTF-ELCAC maintains a campaign against the ongoing communist rebellion in the Philippines, as well as against groups that it claims to be front organizations of the communist group. It maintains that it has the duty to warn the public against "dubious groups with links to communist terrorist organizations". The task force's allegations has been criticized as an act of "red-tagging". The NTF-ELCAC on its part falsely claim that the term "red-tagging" was invented by the CPP-NPA and the usage of such term is a move to discredit the task force's allegations.

Among the notable groups the NTF-ELCAC has alleged to be a communist rebel front is the Makabayan bloc, whose members were elected to the House of Representatives. The allegations of the NTF-ELCAC is an "official stance" of the task force. The NTF-ELCAC also made the same accusation against left-wing human rights organization Karapatan, which filed a lawsuit against the task force for violations against Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide and Other Crimes Against Humanity in response.

The NTF-ELCAC's also conducted background checks on organizers of community pantries set up by volunteers as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic for possible links to the CPP-NPA, which led to calls to defund the NTC-ELCAC.

Barangay Development Program
The Barangay Development Program (BDP) is a socioeconomic program of the NTF-ELCAC for barangays that have been deemed free from communist rebel influence by the national government. It is described by the task force as an approach to address the root causes of insurgency such as "hunger, disease, poverty, injustice and hopelessness" so that the communities would be less susceptible to fall under the influence of the communist insurgents. The government identified as eligible for the program 822 remote conflict-ridden barangays classified as "geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAs)" cleared from communist insurgency influence. The CPP has downplayed the BDP, calling it a "band-aid solution" and believed that the program does not satisfy the "fundamental demand for genuine land reform and the clamor for respect of ancestral lands".

Balik Loob Program and E-CLIP
The Balik Loob Program provides a mechanism for former communist rebels who surrendered to the government to reintegrate to mainstream society.

The Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) is a program established through Administrative Order No. 10 signed by President Duterte on April 3, 2018. Under the program, the Department of the Interior and Local Government provides a package of financial, livelihood, and reintegration assistance, as well as firearms remuneration to rebel and extremist surrenderers, including their families and communities. As of April 2023, there were 37,413 former rebels and former violent extremists who availed of the program since its inception.

Administration
The NTF-ELCAC was created as a government organization under the Office of the President of the Philippines with the Philippine president serving as its chairman, and the National Security Advisor as its vice chairman. Other members include:


 * Secretaries of the following executive departments
 * Department of National Defense
 * Department of the Interior and Local Government
 * Department of Justice
 * Department of Social Welfare and Development
 * Department of Education
 * Department of Information and Communications Technology
 * Department of Finance
 * Department of Budget and Management
 * Department of Public Works and Highways
 * Department of Agrarian Reform


 * Other
 * Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity
 * Armed Forces of the Philippines, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
 * Philippine National Police, Chief
 * National Intelligence Coordinating Agency
 * National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, Chairman
 * National Economic and Development Authority, Director General
 * Commission on Higher Education (Philippines), Chairperson
 * Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Director General
 * And two representatives from the private sector appointed by the President

Communications
The NTF-ELCAC has eight spokespersons, each dedicated to certain matter/s. Prior to May 10, 2021, the task force only had two spokespersons. There are plans to have additional spokespersons to cover each of the Philippines' regions.

Administrative and criminal complaints
Some officials who served under the NTF-ELCAC face complaints before the Office of the Ombudsman and the Commission on Elections. In December 2020, Karapatan alleged in a complaint that Duterte supporter and NTF-ELCAC spokesperson Lorraine Badoy-Partosa is criminally and administratively liable for her "persistent, relentless and malicious red-tagging and vilification" of Karapatan. Also named in the complaint was then-NTF-ELCAC spokesperson Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade.

In March 2022, left-wing partylist members Kabataan Rep. Sarah Jane Elago, GABRIELA Rep. Arlene Brosas, and ACT Rep. France Castro filed criminal complaints against Badoy and nine other NTF-ELCAC executives for electioneering and allegedly violating the Omnibus Election Code. The complaints cited two separate statements issued by the NTF-ELCAC: On March 14, Badoy alleged that presidential candidate Leni Robredo made a pact with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF); On March 21, Badoy released a statement alleging that Kabataan, Anakpawis, Bayan Muna, ACT Teachers, and Gabriela are "urban operatives" of the CPP-NPA-NDF. The complaint contends that the statements constitute "political advertisement" or "election propaganda".

Journalist and Nobel Prize laureate Maria Ressa filed in 2022 an administrative complaint against Badoy at the Office of the Ombudsman over posts calling Ressa a "sociopath" and a "master bullshitter". The complaint alleges that Badoy’s posts violated the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials. The complaint contends that the posts were "malicious and defamatory remarks which transgress boundaries of professional decorum and protocol".

In 2022, the National Union of People's Lawyers filed a motion with the Court of Appeals to declare Badoy in contempt of court after Badoy interviewed on SMNI retired army general Jovito Palparan, who was convicted of kidnapping and illegal detention in 2018.

Calls to defund or abolish
In 2021, some Philippine senators suggested to defund the NTF-ELCAC in response to Parlade's red-tagging of community pantries during the COVID-19 pandemic; Parlade later called the senate proponents "stupid", for which he was censured by at least 15 senators. Presidential candidate and labor leader Leody de Guzman also called for the abolition of the NTF-ELCAC if he were elected.

In November 2023, the United Nations Special Rapporteur (UNSR) on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change Ian Fry called for the abolition of the NTF-ELCAC and the repeal of the Philippine Anti-Terror Law. Fry said that the NTF-ELCAC's red-tagging of environmental human rights defenders and Indigenous peoples violates the rights to life and free expression. Council of Leaders for Peace Initiatives and other peace advocacy groups supported the call to abolish the NTF-ELCAC, while the NTF-ELCAC vice chair Eduardo Año rejected the call deeming the UNSCR report "incomplete" inviting the UNSR to have "clarificatory engagement" with the NTF-ELCAC.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Opinion Irene Khan, during her visit to the Philippines in February 2024, called on the government to abolish the NTF-ELCAC, which she said had red-tagged human rights and humanitarian workers, teachers and health professionals, youth leaders, church leaders, and Indigenous rights defenders. In response, National Security Council Assistant Director General and spokesperson Jonathan Malaya rejected the recommendation, saying the "NTF-ELCAC has been the game-changer in the government's fight against communist terrorism".

In April 2024, human rights organization Amnesty International called for the NTF-ELCAC's abolition, citing the need to end red-tagging and the alleged abuse of the Anti-Terror Law, which Amnesty International said are being used to link media and human rights workers to the communist insurgency.

After the Supreme Court ruled in May 2024 that red-tagging threatens a person's right to life, liberty, or security, Human Rights Watch and Karapatan called on President Bongbong Marcos to abolish the NTF-ELCAC. Marcos rejected the calls for abolition, saying the task force was instrumental in reducing the country's internal security threat.