MANILA – Senator Panfilo Lacson on Monday backed the proposed budget for 2021 of the government’s task force to end communist insurgency.
“I’ll join Senate President Sotto’s call to retain the PHP16.4-billion allocations to the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC),” Lacson said in a statement.
Lacson, in explaining his decision to support the budget, pointed out that the fund “is not even at the disposal” of the security sector since it is part of the Special Purpose Fund under the Assistance to Local Government Units (ALGU) and is intended to hold and develop barangays that are cleared of New People’s Army (NPA) influence.
The budget will fund development programs such as farm-to-market roads and livelihood, as part of confidence-building to prevent the insurgency problem from returning.
He also hopes that through these programs, affected barangays will no longer be vulnerable to attempts by the NPA to recruit members, especially from indigenous peoples.
“Pagkakataon ito pati sa mga NPA sa mga lugar na ito na magbagong-buhay (This is also a chance for NPA members in these are to lead a new life),” Lacson said.
In a Senate hearing on red-tagging chaired by Lacson last week, it was revealed that the communist terrorist groups (CTG) collect up to PHP300 million annually through extortion from telecommunication companies in the country.
The CPP-NPA-NDF (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front) can make Smart and Globe pay PHP200 to PHP300 million, said Jeffrey “Ka Eric” Celiz, a former NPA cadre who served the movement for 27 years.
Celiz, said aside from telcos, he added that the NPA can also make “triple A” contractors pay protection money.
The payments, he said, were made through bank remittances transacted outside the Philippines.
He added 40 percent of the protection money goes to CPP central committee while 60 percent goes to regional operations.
Celiz added that the extortion activities “are able to circumvent the Anti-Money Laundering Council” since these funds are coursed through an established network of conduit non-government organizations coming from Belgium and the Netherlands in Europe.
In the same hearing, Senate President Vicente Sotto said the extortion activities by the communist groups could be the reason why telco firms prefer to put up cell sites in military installations.