Ka Leody vows to abolish NTF-ELCAC, anti-terror law; reallocate budget to health, education

Labor leader and presidential candidate Leody de Guzman on Monday vowed to abolish the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and the anti-terror law and reallocate their budget to health and education.

At the Peace and the Presidentiables forum, De Guzman said that the controversial NTF-ELCAC and the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 are “twin” measures which reflect President Rodrigo Duterte’s “violent” governance.

“Dapat buwagin ‘yang NTF-ELCAC na ‘yan dahil diyan ang konkretong expression o legalization ng marahas na paraan ng pamumuno ni Duterte. Nagbe-breed ‘yan ng lahat ng paglabag sa karapatang pantao, red-tag, lahat-lahat para nagpapalaganap ng terror sa ating bansa at klarong sasagasaan ‘yung pundamental na panuntunan hinggil sa karapatang pantao,” he said.

[The NTF-ELCAC must be abolished because that is the concrete expression or legalization of Duterte's violent way of leading. It breeds all human rights violations, including red-tagging, to propagate terror in our country and will clearly violate the fundamental rule of human rights.]

Duterte's Executive Order 70 created the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) to implement community consultations, problem solving sessions, and local peace dialogues.

He asked the state security forces to end the communist insurgency in the country by the end of his term.

However, it was revealed in November 2021 that only 26 out of the 2,318 projects under the NTF-ELCAC’s barangay development fund have been completed. According to Senate committee chairman Senator Sonny Angara, over 700 of these projects were in the procurement stage, while some 560 were ongoing implementation back then.

Aside from terminating the NTF-ELCAC, de Guzman said he would also repeal the anti-terror law and instead transfer their budget to the government’s COVID-19 pandemic response and the education sector, if he wins the May 9 polls.

“Hindi pwede ‘yung batas na lumalabag sa karapatang pantao, na hindi ka man lang bigyan ng pagkakataon ng makapagpahayag, makapagpaliwanag, magkaroon ng due process,” he said.

[A law that violates human rights, without even giving you the opportunity to express, explain, or have due process should be prohibited]

Duterte signed the controversial anti-terror bill into law in July 2020.

In December 2021, the Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional a qualifier in Section 4 and the second paragraph of Section 25 of Republic Act 11479.

A total of 37 petitions seeking to nullify the measures have been filed against it, making it one of the most challenged laws before the Supreme Court.

Further, De Guzman said he wants the notion of “terrorism” to be disaligned with the image of CPP-NPA as he believes that they are “revolutionary” groups and not terrorists.

“Ang terrorista na dapat tawagin ay ‘yung sumusupil sa karapatan ng bawat indibidwal, ng bawat sektor, ng bawat mamamayan na makaranas ng buhay tao, ng mapayapang buhay,” he added.

[The ones should be called terrorists are the ones who suppress the right of every individual, of every sector, of every citizen to experience human life, of a peaceful life.] — BM, GMA News