Senator Franklin Drilon is questioning why the government’s anti-insurgency task force readily got billions while funds for softening the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic remain in abeyance.
WHY is the government’s anti-insurgency task force given priority over Covid-19 response?
This was Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon’s question as various sectors have called to defund the National Task Force to End Local Communism and Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) due to its alleged “red-tagging” of government critics.
In a statement, Drilon cited data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) which total fund releases for the NTF-ELCAC has already reached P10.68 billion as of April 2021.
NTF-ELCAC has a total appropriation of P19 billion under the 2021 General Appropriations Act and of which, P16.4 billion will go to its Barangay Development Program wherein each of over 800 barangays will receive P20 million.
Drilon said that while the country's “ayuda” of P8,000 for private sector workers remains a proposal and unfunded, NTF-ELCAC has received a total of P10.68 billion and of which, P7.54 billion was released in April alone at the height of strong criticisms against the task force's red-tagging of community pantry organizers.
"Bakit po parang nagmadaling ilabas ang budget? Bakit yung pondo sa Marawi rehabilitation mabagal ang paglabas ng pondo? Saan po gagamitin itong P10.68 bilyon?" he asked.
Last March 24, NTF-ELCAC's program received P3.14 billion, the senator noted.
"Defeating the virus and addressing the effects of the pandemic such as unemployment and hunger should be our priority. There are 62 percent Filipino households who experienced hunger due to COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.
“There are 4.4 million Filipinos who lost jobs in 2020. Yet, the government is giving priority to NTF-ELCAC's anti-insurgency program rather than use the funds to expand ayuda, buy vaccines and feed the poor," Drilon added.
(ONT)
Tags: #FranklinDrilon, #insurgency, #Covid19, #NTFELCAC