On VP Leni Robredo’s statement of support for NTF-ELCAC

On VP Leni Robredo’s statement of support for NTF-ELCAC

Movement Against Tyranny

The Movement Against Tyranny (MAT) is asking VP Leni Robredo to stand firm in her previous pronouncement calling for the abolition of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

NTF-ELCAC is proof of how the weaponization of the bureaucracy enabled state forces to unleash unmitigated terror and violence across the country.

It claims to prioritize the delivery of so-called peace and development projects in remote villages even if this is accompanied by intense militarization and redtagging operations targeting activists, community leaders, and critics of authorities.

It promises to empower low-income barangays but it only reinforced political patronage and corruption, based on the reports released in the Senate budget deliberations.

It is the complete opposite of what VP Robredo and her team are doing on the ground.

It represents the failure of the Rodrigo Duterte government to uphold and protect human rights, grassroots development, and justice.

A consistent condemnation of Duterte’s human rights record would mean a stand for the abolition of NTF-ELCAC.

To support NTF ELCAC is to negate the clamor for accountability which VP Robredo has been pushing for in the past five years.

NTF-ELCAC redtagged VP Robredo not because some of its officials were ‘careless’ but it reflected the agency’s dubious orientation, questionable broad mandate, and excessive resources it got from Duterte, the country’s commander-in-chief.

The ongoing election campaign should embolden candidates to continue speaking out against the atrocities of the incumbent regime. We expect VP Robredo to be our strong and consistent ally in this important fight for the future of our democracy.

VP Robredo previously asserted that addressing the roots of the armed conflict should be the priority of the government, rather than adopting an all-out-war policy. MAT and other human rights defenders share this position and it is in pursuit of genuine peace and democracy that we ask her to remain steadfast in calling for the defunding and abolition of the NTF ELCAC.

(PRESS RELEASE)