NTF-Elcac won’t be abolished by Marcos, says security council exec

FILE PHOTO: National Security Council Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya speaks to members of the media during the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City on Saturday, April 20, 2024. Malaya said during the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing Monday, May 13, 2024, that the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) will not be abolished by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Arnel Tacson, INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) will not be abolished by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., a National Security Council (NSC) official said Monday.

Calls for the repeal of the anti-insurgency task force were raised anew after the Supreme Court (SC) said that red-tagging is a threat to one’s life. NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya was asked about the matter and said:

“They’re imagining things kung sa tingin nila ang Pangulo ay i-abolish ‘yung NTF-Elcac,” he said during the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing Monday.

(They imagine things if they think the President will abolish the NTF-Elcac.)

Malaya pointed out that the SC ruling did not mention the task force, as it was a procedural lapse of the Iloilo Regional Trial Court.

The NSC official also cited a meeting in Malacañang where Marcos said he was happy with the task force’s performance.

READ: Marcos wants to carry out amnesty for communist rebels at once, says Año

Malaya even said that Marcos wanted more support for the task force.

“Are these the actions of someone who wants to abolish the NTF-Elcac? In fact, the President is the head of NTF-Elcac,” he stressed in mixed English and Filipino.