MANILA – The officials of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) have cautioned the public against politicians that have strong connections with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF).
NTF-ELCAC spokesperson for Sectoral Concerns and Presidential Communications Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy said the government’s anti-insurgency task force will remain relentless in its fight against the communist terrorist groups and continue unmasking their legal front organizations.
“[B]akit kami relentless at hindi kami titigil? Kasi napakalaking kapahamakan kapag iyong susunod na pangulo ay kaibigan ngCPP-NPA-NDF (Why we won’t stop and relentless? Because it would be a huge catastrophe if the next president is an ally of the CPP-NPA-NDF),” Badoy said in a press conference on Wednesday.
Badoy said the country will “only go back to what it was before the creation of NTF-ELCAC” wherein NPA killings of innocents, massive recruitment of minors to armed revolution, and extortion in the countryside were rampant.
In a statement Thursday, Badoy said the NTF-ELCAC is unfazed by various filed criminal charges and lawsuits against its officials.
“We are not in the least bit beleaguered. We are, in fact, amused at the fear and panic we sense behind these complaints against us and the NTF ELCAC by the CPP-NPA-NDF in the face of their impending demise,” she added.
Badoy is among NTF-ELCAC officials who are facing administrative complaints before the Office of the Ombudsman over “red-tagging” issues.
“When the CPP-NPA-NDF takes me on, they take on the entire NTF ELCAC. And when they take on the NTF ELCAC, they take on the entire government of the Republic of the Philippines that is headed by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte- a President who is leaving the presidency with soaring trust and approval ratings never before enjoyed by past Philippine presidents. A President who, since he sat in the office, has been the No.1 most trusted public servant in government,” she said.
Members of Makabayan Bloc including Kabataan party-list Rep. Sarah Jane Elago, Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas, ACT Teachers party-list Reps. France Castro, Robert De Castro, Teodoro Casiño, Saturnino Ocampo, and Ariel Casilao also filed complaints against NTF-ELCAC officials on March 25, for alleged electioneering and other violations of the Omnibus Election Code.
Badoy said the complaints against her and other NTF-ELCAC officials were only meant to “harass and silence” them for speaking the truth about the deceptive schemes of the CPP-NPA-NDF through their legal fronts.
“We know exactly that our fidelity is to our countrymen and we, therefore, stand in the fiercest defense of the Filipino people, we will be ceaseless in unmasking members and fronts of the CPP-NPA-NDF because it is precisely because of those masks that they have been able to hurt our people and our country,” she added.
On Wednesday, several officials of the NTF-ELCAC have jointly signed and filed a counter-affidavit in response to the complaints filed by the Makabayan Bloc which include charges for alleged red-tagging presidential aspirant Vice President Leni Robredo.
The NTF-ELCAC, however, maintained “no one is red-tagging.”
Badoy also replied: “We are unfazed by all these nonsense lawsuits and complaints that are meant to harass and have no substance- their favorite being red-tagging, which our Supreme Court has ruled as nonexistent and that there is no danger to life, liberty, and security when you are identified as a member of the CPP-NPA-NDF (Zarate vs. Aquino).”
Meanwhile, Badoy urged Robredo to condemn the CPP-NPA-NDF’s atrocities and violence “if it’s true that her camp is not conniving with the communist groups.”
“Madame Vice President, all you need to do is condemn the CPP-NPA-NDF. We’ve been asking you to do it for almost a month now,” she said.
“Madame Vice President, you’re from Bicol, you know Masbate? You know Keith Absalon? He was shot like a dog. He was begging for his life, with his arms up in the air and yet he was shot between his eyes. You cannot condemn that, ‘di ba (right)? You owe that to the Filipino people. That’s your fidelity, that’s your oath of office. We all took that oath of office. Do it, Madame Vice President and panalo tayo (we win),” she added.
The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
The Anti-Terrorism Council also formally designated the NDF as a terrorist organization on June 23, 2021, citing it as “an integral and inseparable part” of the CPP-NPA that was created in April 1973. (PNA)