Drilon vows to oppose increased NTF-ELCAC funds in 2022, warns vs ‘election war chest’
MANILA, Philippines — Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Tuesday vowed to oppose "tooth and nail" funds for the government's red-tagging task force in 2022 which he said could be used as a multibillion peso "election war chest."
Drilon expects the National Task Force to End Local Armed Communist Conflict to seek a bigger budget of around P28 billion in 2022. These funds, he warned, could be used to give away more funds to barangays across the country throughout the election year.
A bulk of the NTF-ELAC's current budget, P16.4 billion of the total P19 billion, goes to its Barangay Development Program — the manner of disbursement for which Drilon has flagged on several occasions as affording the task force too much discretion.
“We should be more vigilant. The 2022 budget is an election budget. We must not allow the budget to be used for election or partisan political activities,” the Senate minority leader warned.
President Rodrigo Duterte's party, the ruling PDP-Laban, on Monday adopted a resolution urging Congress to retain and even increase the NTF-ELCAC's budget in 2022, according to reports from Rappler and GMA News.
READ: Over P10 billion released to red-tagging task force amid calls to realign its budget — senator
'Anti-insurgency in aid of election'
Drilon estimated that P28 billion will be sought by the NTF-ELCAC next year, citing National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon's announcement that the number of “cleared” barangays has increased by 1,398 — from 822 to 2,220.
He noted that 822 barangays have already received some P20 million under the task force's barangay development program.
"That will be a whopping P28 billion election war chest. We will vehemently oppose the budget of NTF-ELCAC," Drilon said.
In an earlier statement, Drilon urged barangays to shun "partisan politics," as he flagged an alleged survey circulating online, asking residents of Barangay Pagala in Baliwag, Bulacan whether they will support the candidacy of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.
Former Rep. Teddy Casiño (Bayan Muna) was among the first to call attention to the matter, posting a photo to his Twitter account.
"[T]he forms presented to your good office is a sign that you are willing to support Ms. Sarah Duterte on the upcoming Presidential Election," the pictured letter supposedly from Barangay Chairman Mark Anthony Velasquez to the Home Owners Association Camelia Phase 1 and 2 on May 27 reads.
I see what you did there. Wonder how many barangays in the country are conducting this “survey.” pic.twitter.com/awrYys5OvJ
— Teddy Casiño (@teddycasino) May 28, 2021
"They cannot campaign or endorse the candidacy of any person. More so, they cannot use the resources of the barangays for political activities. That is a violation of the law,” Drilon said then.
He cited Commission on Election and Civil Service Commission Joint Circular 001-201 which prohibits barangay officials from engaging in electioneering of engaging in partisan political activities.
Will the NTF-ELCAC actually be defunded?
Drilon said he believes that many of his colleagues will propose to defund the task force next year.
“Instead of allocating billions of taxpayers’ money to NTF-ELCAC, let us increase the budget of 4Ps or Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program. Let us use the funds to assist our jobless kababayans,” he said.
The controversial task force's red-tagging of community pantry organizers and its refusal to accept the Senate's call to fire one of its red-tagging spokespersons, Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr, has earned the upper chamber's ire.
READ: 'Sayang lang pera’: Senators want to defund red-tagging task force | Senate seen to censure Parlade for calling senators stupid
In addition to Drilon, Sens. Joel Villanueva, Sherwin Gatchalian, Risa Hontiveros and Francis Pangilinan in April called for the realignment of the red-tagging task force's entire 2022 budget to the government's pandemic response.
Others in the Senate have said they want tor review the task force's funds.
However, Senate President Tito Sotto at the time opposed calls from senators to realigning the task force's funds, telling several news outlets that it should be "defanged" instead of defunded.
The NTF-ELCAC's budget also faced opposition in the Senate last year, with Drilon at the time expecting six other senators to back the realignment of the task force's funds.
But concerns over the funds were dismissed by Sen. Sonny Angara, who chairs the committee on finance, and Sotto, who moved to retain the task force's entire P19 billion budget for 2021.
— Bella Perez-Rubio
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