Security exec says PBBM won't abolish NTF-ELCAC

PRESIDENT FERDINAND R. Marcos Jr. has “made it clear” that he will not abolish the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), National Security Council (NSC) Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya said Wednesday.

“I am sorry to relay the bad news to them – but the President made it clear today that he will never abolish the NTF-ELCAC,” Malaya said in a Palace press briefing in response to the call of Gabriela Party-list for Marcos to abolish the task force.

Malaya said Marcos has expressed delight over the NTF-ELCAC's success in dismantling communist insurgency during the 7th Executive Committee Meeting of the task force in Malacañang.

He added that the President stressed the need to follow up on the gains of the task force to completely end the country's decades-old insurgency problem.

"I'm encouraged by the reports, our efforts are bearing fruit, we have to continue. It has been successful and we need to continue to invest in its success," Malaya quoted Marcos as saying during the meeting.

The task force, according to the NSC official, is dealing a heavy blow to the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF), noting that the insurgency is now at its lowest point in over 50 years of operations in the countryside.

Malaya said at present, there is only one remaining "weakened" guerrilla front in the province of Camarines Sur, a marked reduction from the 89 active fronts the NTF-ELCAC faced when it was first established.

He attributed the significant decline of the CPP-NPA to multiple factors, including the deaths of key leaders such as Jose Maria "Joma" Sison, the neutralization of the Tiamzon couple, and the recent death of Myrna Sularte.

Malaya also highlighted the role of focused military and police operations, the success of the Barangay Development Program, and sustained localized peace engagements.

With the loss of mass support, Malaya said the communist group could no longer impose its notorious revolutionary taxes or permit-to-win and permit-to-campaign tactics, which had been a major security challenge during previous elections.

"For this coming May elections, the CPP-NPA-NDF will no longer be a significant threat to the peaceful conduct of elections," he said. (Darryl John Esguerra)