Transfer of anti-Maoist body’s budget to education sought

By Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio, Reporter

THE GOVERNMENT should transfer P7.8 billion of the budget of the country’s anti-communist task force to education and health, a congressman said on Thursday, citing the body’s slow fund use.

“This is not the first time that the NTF-ELCAC’s (National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict) fund utilization has been this slow,” Party-list Rep. Raoul Danniel A. Manuel said in Filipino during a House of Representatives hearing on the agency’s budget.

He noted that as of June, the task force has only spent 96% of its P16.4-billion village budget for 2021.

“I strongly insist that we defund NTF-ELCAC, including its Barangay Development Program for 2025,” he said. “Instead, we should realign the funds directly to national agencies working on education, health and other social services.”

The NTF-ELCAC’s village program seeks to address “development gaps” in infrastructure and basic services of villages freed from the influence of communist rebels.

Next year’s proposed funding for the barangay development program more than tripled to P7.8 billion from P2.2 billion this year.

The amount will be used to build farm-to-market roads, schools, water and electrification projects for 780 conflict-prone villages nationwide, according to the 2025 National Expenditure Program.

Meanwhile, the state has yet to begin its implementation of 885 village development projects for 2024, Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Marlo L. Iringan told congressmen.

The Budget department had just released the budget to local governments, he said. “That’s why they are still in the process of procuring the projects.”

Mr. Manuel raised concerns about the timely implementation of village development projects, saying the government “only has four whole months left for the year” to accomplish them.

Only 841 out of 1,253 projects in 2023 have been implemented as of June, Mr. Iringan said.

“Despite its flaws, the development program illustrates that the military knew it needed to pursue a more holistic approach to end the communist insurgency,” Georgi Engelbrecht, a senior analyst at international conflict think tank Crisis Group, said in an X message.

However, it should be refined and streamlined to improve socioeconomic conditions in conflict-affected areas, he added.

“While development projects may enjoy short-term success, their long-term effects are often uncertain,” he told BusinessWorld. “Building roads may be an essential step… but corridors from the countryside to urban centers, which are crucial to boosting rural livelihoods, are often missing from the plans.”

The proposal to realign the NTF-ELCAC funds to social services should still target “the poorest and most conflict-affected barangays” in the country, Mr. Engelbrecht said.

The government should also improve its amnesty program by providing more opportunities to rebel returnees, Chester B. Cabalza, founding president of Manila-based International Development and Security Cooperation, said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

“More funds are needed to roll out developmental programs to returnee rebels and insurgents who sought amnesty from the government,” he said. “While their reintegration to the nation and communities is costly, it is effective.”