NTF-ELCAC rejects claims P8-B barangay allocation is ‘discretionary fund’

The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) on Thursday debunked claims that its proposed P8.08 billion allocation for conflict-affected barangays amounts to a discretionary fund.

NTF-ELCAC Executive Director Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr. said the budget is intended for the government’s Barangay Development Program (BDP) in 2026 and bring sustainable development programs to conflict-prone and conflict-affected communities.

In a statement, Torres said the BDP is being implemented by multiple line agencies including the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Health (DOH), and the Department of Education (DepEd).

He added that the anti-insurgency body has no operational control over the program and is not involved in the handling or the disbursement of its budget.

“The P8.08 billion is not an NTF-ELCAC fund in the way it is being portrayed. It is not a discretionary pool, not a patronage fund, and not an ‘ayuda’ dispensed in exchange for compliance or silence,” he said.

Torres added: “To conflate BDP allocations with an ‘NTF-ELCAC budget’ is to misunderstand both the structure of government and the nature of the program.”

On Wednesday, church organizations Caritas Philippines and the Episcopal Commission on Social Action, Justice and Peace (ECSA-JP) expressed concern over the proposed P8.08 billion funds for the NTF-ELCAC and alleged that it was being presented as a “reward” for local government units (LGUs) and barangays declared “cleared” of insurgency.

The groups added that peace is not a reward and is “not a prize to be handed out, nor a favor to be earned” and that “peace is the fruit of justice.”

“We recognize the desire of the government to bring peace and development to conflict-affected areas. Yet good intentions cannot justify approaches that undermine justice, human dignity, and democratic participation,” they said in a pastoral statement.

The church groups added that framing development assistance as a reward converts “public funds into instruments of patronage rather than tools of empowerment,” and that such an approach “breeds fear instead of participation, dependence instead of empowerment, and short-term obedience instead of lasting social transformation.

In response, the NTF-ELCAC explained that BDP projects are not cash assistance (ayuda) but consist of infrastructure and social services.

Torres said it is the local barangays that identify BDP projects in their areas based on their needs, while local development councils endorse the projects and LGUs validate and implement them.

“The BDP is not a prize handed out after compliance. It is a corrective intervention – belated state action to address historical exclusion and governance failure. Hindi ito gantimpala, kundi habol na pananagutan ng estado (This is not a price but a belated accountability for the responsibilities of the state.),” he added. — JMA, GMA Integrated News