Sen. Ronald dela Rosa (File photo from the Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)
MANILA, Philippines – The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) is not involved in any “armed confrontation with the enemies of the state,” Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa said on Wednesday evening.
“Why are they lambasting the NTF-Elcac? Maybe they are being fed with wrong information,” he said.
Dela Rosa said the agency was “all about good governance and delivery of basic services to the communities.”
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He made those remarks after Sen. Francis Tolentino relayed during the Senate deliberation a recommendation made by United Nations rapporteur Ian Fry.
During the Senate deliberations on the proposed 2024 budget of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU), Tolentino said Fry urged a stop to NTF-Elcac activities as these violated human rights and would not end
In his short interpellation, Tolentino disclosed that United Nations special rapporteur Ian Fry supposedly recommended that all NTF-Elcac activities be stopped as these violate human rights and will not end the communist armed conflict.
Tolentino then asked Dela Rosa about his stand on the issue as the sponsor of the OPAPRU budget.
“Maybe [he] is one of the most misinformed foreigners who set foot in the country. Maybe the only side he heard was on the other side. He didn’t listen to the government,” Dela Rosa said, speaking in a mix of English and Filipino.
“That is why we are in a quandary right now. NTF-ELCAC is all about good governance and delivery of basic services to the communities and they are not involved in armed confrontation with the enemies of the state,” he said.
Tolentino agreed with Dela Rosa’s remark. He also pointed out that the peace process in the country was “a fluid dynamic” going “probably beyond the comprehension of a foreign observer.”