Pangilinan: Additional NTF-ELCAC talking heads comes with additional spending

Additional talking heads at the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) will also likely mean the need for additional spending, Senator Francis Pangilinan said Tuesday.

“Kung meron silang designation, ‘di nila tatawaging salary or compensation. Tatawagin nilang allowances for transportation, cellphone allowances… Most likely may dagdag na gastos ‘yan dahil dagdag na trabaho, but it does not come in the form of additional salaries,” Pangilinan said in an online interview with reporters.

(If they were given these designations, they will be given allowances for transportation, cellphone allowances. Most likely, this will add up to expenses, but it does not come in the form of additional salaries.)

He said these funds could have been used for additional financial aid for Filipinos hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Ngayon lang ako nakakita ng napakaraming spokesperson na ginagastusan. So, katakataka ano ba talaga ang agenda?” he asked.

(This is the only instance where there have been this many spokespersons in a task force. So I am wondering, what is their agenda?)

“Kaya nga kinikuwestyon natin mula’t sapul yung ganung kalaking budget? Para saan ba yan?… Di ba dapat yung pondo na yan e para dun sa mga rebel returnee, bakit sa spokesperson nila nilalagay?” he further asked.

(That is why we are questioning their budget right from the start. What is this for? Shouldn't this be given to the rebel returnees?)

Pangilinan said the Senate has been clear on its position on NTF-ELCAC spokesperson Lieutenant General Antonio Parlade Jr.’s removal from his post, saying he will question this once the 2022 budget is tackled in the Senate.

“When the budget debates come we will raise this as part of our obligation and our duty to ensure oversight over the Executive Department,” he said.

Senator Risa Hontiveros likewise warned that she will require the task force to justify its funding.

“Wala naman sa dami ng spokespersons ang performance ng ahensya. Pagdating sa budget, simple lang: kapag pangit ang performance, kailangang magpaliwanag ng ahensya kung bakit hindi ito dapat babawasan ng pondo. There is an appropriate time to study that. Darating din tayo dyan,” she said.

(It is not about how many spokespersons are there. It is about the performance of the agency. When it comes to the budget, we will just put it simply: if their performance is dismal, then they should explain why their funds should not be slashed. There is an appropriate time to study that. We will go into that later on.)

“Ngayong may anim pa silang dagdag na tagapagsalita, siguro naman may makakasagot kahit isa: Kailan matatapos ang mga projects na pinondohan ng NTF-ELCAC? At kailan mailalabas ang natitira pang pera para sa ibang lugar? Show us results,” she added.

(Now that there are six more spokespeople, maybe one of them can answer these questions: When are they going to finish the projects that were funded by the NTF-ELCAC? When are they going to release the excess funds to other places? Show us results.)

Senator Joel Villanueva also wants to look at the results of NTF-ELCAC’s anti-insurgency programs.

“We need to see what they have accomplished, how they implemented their programs and the policies that they adopted. It will be performance-based,” he said.

While Villanueva was disappointed with Parlade's work at the NTF-ELCAC, he said they would be objective in scrutinizing the task force’s accomplishments.

Meanwhile, Senator Panfilo Lacson said an “air of arrogance” wafted from the NTF-ELCAC after it kept Parlade as its spokesperson and added more spokespersons.

In March, the Senate recommended the removal of Parlade as NTF-ELCAC’s spokesman.

This was part of the Senate National Defense panel's report on incidents of "red-tagging.”

However, Parlade played down the Senate panel's recommendation and said it was up to the Executive Department to decide on the matter. — DVM, GMA News