ILOILO – The provincial government will be forming the Provincial Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (PTF-ELCAC) – a local counterpart of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) that President Rodrigo Duterte created December last year.
Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. recently expressed alarm over the series of clashes between government troops and rebels in the municipalities of Miag-ao and Igbaras.
While the NTF-ELCAC aims a whole-of-nation approach in attaining inclusive and sustainable peace, the PTF-ELCAC’s tack would be whole-of-province.
“This is good because the thrust of Governor (Arthur) Defensor (Jr.) is social justice. The framework is already there. All we have to do is make the implementation plan,” said Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Iloilo director Teodora Sumagaysay.
Defensor said the provincial government has programs that could help address the insurgency problem; one of these is building road networks even in remote areas.
These road networks are envisioned to usher economic development even in far-flung areas. Economic difficulty is one of the factors driving people to rebel, Defensor explained.
The governor met with Sumagaysay on Tuesday to discuss the PTF-ELCAC. Also present were Philippine Army’s 301st Brigade Commander General Alberto Desoyo; Iloilo Police Provincial Office director Police Colonel Roland Vilela; and representatives from the Philippine Coast Guard and the National Bureau of Investigation.
Based on DILG Memorandum Circular 2019-125, a joint resolution of the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) and the Provincial Development Council (PDC) is needed for the creation of the task force. It will be chaired by the governor.
“Governor Defensor suggested that there will be a separate meeting of the PPOC on October 3. And then the resolution of PPOC will be submitted to PDC for approval,” Sumagaysay said.
The governor will then create 12 clusters. Each cluster will be composed of government agencies with related functions. The governor should also ensure that the task force is replicated at the municipal level. (LHC, Capitol News/PN)
