Elago files raps vs NTF-ELCAC top brass at Ombudsman

MANILA, Philippines — Kabataan Party-list Rep. Sarah Elago filed on Monday administrative charges before the Office of the Ombudsman against top officials of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) for “spreading false quotations and blatantly vilifying” her.

The complaint was filed against National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, and Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency director-general Alex Monteagudo, Armed Forces Southern Luzon Command chief Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade, and Presidential Communications Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy, who is also concurrently the spokesperson of the task force.

Elago said the officials have been active in attacking her on social media and other public platforms.

“The NTF-ELCAC has been using people’s money to maliciously attack progressive individuals and groups, including the youth,” the youth representative said in a statement.

She explained that while some of the attacks were done through the personal accounts of the government officials, they are still backed by state institutions as they are often signed with the government titles of the officials or accompanied by a logo of the police or the military.

“By red-tagging us, the government through the NTF-ELCAC not only discredits our legislative work and diverts attention away from pressing issues. It also puts at risk our lives, and the lives of those they work with,” she added.

Elago also vowed “to not stand idly by as state agents continue to attack our name and our members’ safety.”

“The filing of this case is one way for the youth to strike back against these attacks,” the partylist said.

EDV