MANILA, Philippines — The Metro Manila Regional Development Council (RDC) and Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) on Tuesday formally created the National Capital Region Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NCRTF-ELCAC).
The special task force was anchored from the National Task Force-ELCAC (NTF-ELCAC) and was created following President Rodrigo Duterte’s December 2018 order for the institution of the “Whole of Nation” approach for sustainable peace.
Duterte serves as the chair of the NTF-ELCAC.
“Today we converge to heed the call of President Rodrigo Duterte to end all armed threats in the Philippines and all its contributory mechanisms by adopting the Whole-Of Nation Approach through the Executive No. 70, and support the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict,” concurrent RDC and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chair Danilo Lim said at the joint RDC-RPOC meeting at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City.
Meanwhile, Philippine National Police (PNP) National Capital Region Police Office Chief and RPOC Interim Chair MGen. Guillermo Eleazar said that the NCRTF-ELCAC “shall serve as the venue for integrating and coordinating national efforts to localize peace initiatives.”
The special task force also seeks to counter recruitment efforts of groups such as CPP-NPA and their “deceitful propaganda” in schools and poor communities in Metro Manila.
Further, NCRTF-ELCAC also seeks to ensure direct delivery of social services to the poor.
First joint meeting
The special body was formally created during the first joint meeting between the RDC and RPOC and was presided by Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar, who serves as the Cabinet Officer for Regional Development and Security (CORDS) in line with Duterte’s issued EO 70.
“Handling the peace and order in Metro Manila is not only the work of uniformed personnel or state forces but it is also the responsibility of all stakeholders for a peaceful nation,” Villar said.
The RDC serves as the primary institution that coordinates economic and social development efforts in the NCR, while the RPOC focuses mainly on peace and order in the region. /je