Gov’t told: Prioritize agriculture instead of increasing NTF-Elcac fund

This banana plantation in Roxas, Palawan was submerged in flood on September 16, 2024, amid torrential rains for a week in the province. — ROXAS MUNICIPAL AGRICULTURE OFFICE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – The government should have prioritized the country’s agricultural sector, rather than increasing the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict’s (NTF-Elcac) 2025 budget, fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) said on Tuesday.

On Monday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. approved an increase of up to P7.5 million per village allocation for the NTF-Elcac’s Support to Barangay Development Program (SBDP) as part of its anti-communist efforts.

Pamalakaya Vice Chairperson Rommel Arambulo said the funds would be better utilized if allocated to agricultural production, especially in the aftermath of typhoons and other calamities that affected the sector.

“Human rights and democracy advocates have long called for the abolishment, not additional funding, of the NTF-Elcac,” he said in Filipino.

“It is clear that President Marcos Jr. has no plans to abolish the NTF-Elcac, given his decision to increase its budget, which offers no tangible benefits for farmers and fishers in remote villages,” he added.

Based on the latest report by the Department of Agriculture, the country’s agriculture sector incurred P6.83 billion in losses due to the combined effects of storms Kristine and Leon.

READ: DA: Agriculture losses due to typhoons hit P6.83B

National Security Council (NSC) Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya revealed on Monday that Marcos was “not happy” with the NTF-Elcac’s initial P2.5-million allocation per barangay in the 2024 General Appropriations Act.

“So he (President Marcos) ordered the Department of Budget and Management to allocate additional funds for this year. He said that P2.5 million will hardly make an impact in terms of development, so he ordered the augmentation,” Malaya’s statement read.

A total of P4.32 billion was allotted for 864 barangays, which will each receive P7.5 million under the anti-communist task force’s SBDP program next year, according to the NSC.

READ: Marcos OKs more funding for NTF-Elcac’s development program

However, Arambulo maintained that the NTF-Elcac has done nothing but “endanger many activists and community members of progressive and people’s organizations.”

“The NTF-Elcac has had no meaningful impact on the ordinary citizen, as it has only become a tool to further restrict democracy and freedom of expression through terror-tagging,” he said in Filipino.

“The NTF-Elcac does not deserve to receive a single centavo because it has not developed a single barangay since it was established,” he added.