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Local leaders’ thunderous demands to revive the PHP28.1-billion budget of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) have gained traction, changing the minds of many legislators, particularly those in the Congressional Bicameral Conference Committee for 2022. (bicam).

Senator Sonny Angara, head of the Senate Finance Committee, was already certain that the NTF-ELCAC budget, particularly its flagship program, the Barangay Development Program (BDP), will be increased at the bicam in 2022.

With the recent filing of the NTF-accomplishment ELCAC’s report on the BDP, Angara claims that most senators now have a better understanding of how critical the projects are for barangays in remote areas.

Angara stated that if the increased budget is approved by the bicam, the majority of senators want the money to go toward BDP’s infrastructure component.

“Huwag natin ilagay sa maintenance charges, basta ang gusto ng mga kasamahan namin, basta ang gusto ng iba kung dadagdagan natin.” Ilagay natin sa infrastructure, sa mga makikita ng ating mga kababayan sa kanayunan, sa mga very noticeable na makikita ng ating mga kababayan sa kanayunan. Yung point ng programa at yung magugustuhan ng mga kababayan natin kasi yun naman ang magugustuhan ng mga kababayan natin kasi yun naman ang magugustuhan ng mga kababayan natin kasi yun naman ang magugustuhan ng mga k Let’s put money in infrastructure, particularly in the areas where our people may see it in the countryside. Because that is the program’s goal and what our people want),” he explained.

“Kapag nakikita nila na may kalsada sila, mayroong patubig, mayroon silang magagandang proyekto mula sa gobyerno nila, ramdam nila yung pag-aruga ng pamahalaan (When they see that their government has roads, irrigation, and good projects, they feel the government’s care),

The Senate’s massive budget cut to the NTF-ELCAC proposed budget for the 2022 General Appropriations Act (GAA) was caused by the delayed report on the BDP, which the Senators later realized was due to the vast scope of the various NTF-ELCAC projects targeted and being implemented nationwide, according to Angara.

“Kaya malaki yung cut namin (That’s why we did a big cut),” says the narrator. They’ve provided us reports since then, and many of the 2,300 projects are still in the pre-procurement stage, yung iba binibid-out na, yung iba under construction na. So, at the very least, nakita namin na meron naman palang napupuntahan yung pera ng ating bayan (many are in the pre-procurement stage, others are being bid out, and yet others are being built). So, at the very least, we saw that people’s money was going to the proper projects),” Angara explained.

Because of the massive project of the BDP, Angara also advised that the NTF-ELCAC set aside a budget for its monitoring and reporting system.

“So, because yung mga projects niyan are nationwide and kalat-kalat, gathering information takes time, kailangan bawat munisipyo, bawat barangay magre-report sa iyo.” Because the projects are nationwide and in various places, it takes time to gather information, and every municipality and barangay must report. It necessitates a significant amount of effort). That’s something the NTF-ELCAC should work on in the future to ensure “excellent” implementation,” according to Angara.

Senator Ronald ‘Bato’ Dela Rosa, a member of the Senate contingent for the 2022 bicam, on the other hand, said on Tuesday at Usaping Bayan in SMNI that what he wants is for the NTF-ELCAC budget to be restored at least to this year’s PHP19 billion money.

“Actually, I talked to Senator Angara, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and he gave me the promise na ire-restore yung (it will be restored) somewhere along the amount for this year,” Dela Rosa said before the start of the bicam.

Dela Rosa hoped that the NTF-ELCAC budget would be resolved during the bicam’s small group discussions, as members of the House of Representatives, notably Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez and ACT-CIS Rep. Eric Yap, will continue to defend the original PHP28.1 billion NTF-ELCAC budget.

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has already expressed his displeasure with the budget cuts and asked Congress to restore the NTF-ELCAC and BDP budgets — a strong deterrent to insurgency because it brings development to communities previously terrorized by the Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army – National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF).

National Security Adviser (NSA) and NTF-ELCAC vice-chairman Secretary Hermogenes Esperon, on the other side, reaffirmed that the BDP is about ending local communist armed struggle, which continues to obstruct the country’s growth and economic development, particularly in the far-flung barangays.

“Hindi naman politikahan ito (It’s not about politics),” says the speaker. “This is about terminating the local communist armed conflict because kung mawawala ang conflict na ito ay ang makikinabang ay ang buong Pilipinas,” Esperon added.

Local leaders are asking for the original BDP budget to be reinstated, he said, because the cuts will hinder the completion of many of the promised infrastructure projects.

“Yung PHP28.1 billion ay hindi pondo ng NTF-ELCAC iyan,” he said. Iyan ay pondo ng Barangay Development Program, and iyan ay na napupunta sa barangay. Mawawala na yung kanilang farm-to-market road, and saka yung pinaka crucial ay mawawala na din yung classrooms, and mawawala na ding yung livelihood initiatives. At the same time, ito ay dapat na PHP20 million bawat barangay (Remember, the PHP28.1 billion is not from the NTF-ELCAC budget.) This is for BDB and will be delivered straight to the barangay. Farm-to-market routes, as well as classrooms and livelihood programs, will no longer exist. As a result, each barangay should have PHP20 million),” Esperon explained.

Governors Chiz Escudero of Sorsogon, Ben Evardone of Eastern Samar, Nelson Dayanghirang of Davao Oriental, Jayvee Tyron Uy of Davao de Oro, Nancy Catamco of North Cotabato, and Jose Maria Zubiri Jr. of Bukidnon were also dissatisfied with the Senate’s budget decrease.

Many governors also claimed that the budget cuts would only assist the CPP-NPA-NDF, claiming that these communist terrorist organizations (CTGs) would easily discredit the government’s efforts for failing to deliver on promises to already impoverished barangays.

Municipal mayors whose barangays are set to benefit from the BDP implementation in 2022, on the other hand, were saddened and advised their supporters not to vote for senators who will defund the NTF-ELCAC.

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