The Youth for Peace and Development Movement Philippines, an organization of young peacebuilders in the country, appeals to all our honorable members of the Senate of the Philippines to reconsider their pronouncement of slashing the 2022 budget of the National Task Force Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) intended for Barangay Development Program (BDP). The essence of the NTF-ELCAC, which is anchored on a whole-of-nation approach, is to enjoin all public and private entities to fully support and work together in dismantling the Communist Terrorist Group by addressing the socio-economic problems in its influenced communities. For more than half a century since the CTG began, it is only during the onset of the NTF-ELCAC that we have seen an unprecedented decline of leaders and members of the said terrorist group which are mostly through surrender. The trust and confidence of the people from formerly CTG-influenced areas in the government have also been restored because of the consistent delivery of services of the said Task Force and the implementation of BDP. With some of our members coming from the beneficiary communities of NTF-ELCAC, we are witnesses of how the BDP projects served as the game-changer in addressing communist terrorism, especially in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAs) where government projects are rare in the past that the CTG capitalized on this issue to instill hate and bitterness among their people towards the government. Further, former rebels have already become partners of our government troops in terms of peace and security because of the sincerity shown by the NTF-ELCAC to improve the lives of those affected by conflicts. Opportunities for the children and youth in far-flung areas have also poured in since the installation of new and more accessible school buildings through the anti-insurgency task force’s persistence. These results clearly show that the NTF-ELCAC is effective in fulfilling its mandate that goes beyond combat operations. However, it is not yet done in its final blow, thus, it has to be continually supported with sufficient resources to fund the remaining BDP projects. This can only happen if the Senate will heed the call of those who support the NTF-ELCAC. Slashing its Php24 billion-peso budget for 2022, wherein a huge chunk will go to the development of formerly NPA-infested areas, will not be the loss of one agency alone but the loss of the whole government in fulfilling its promise of development to the beneficiary communities and their people. What is more worrisome is that it might hinder the current administration from finishing the insurgency problem in 2022 and the burden will remain in the next administration. While we understand that the budget-cut aims to allocate the slashed fund to other priority programs of the government, we also hope that our dear Senators will recognize that the proposed budget of the NTF-ELCAC will address a 53-year insurgency problem in our country which has caused several lives, destroyed families and indigenous tribes, and pulled down the economic potential of our country because of security problems. We reiterate that the insurgency problem cannot be addressed by the military forces alone. That is why we are using our voice to contribute to our most desired peace and development in the country according to our capacity. We are hoping that the Senate will also do the same, using the power entrusted to them by the people. Thank you!
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