In commemoration of the milestone on peace and the continuous fight against armed conflict, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) celebrated its 5th Founding Anniversary on December 4, 2023.

The event was attended by RPOC Chairperson and Tacloban City Mayor Alfred S. Romualdez, DILG Region 8 Regional Director Arnel M. Agabe, PA MGen Camilo Z. Ligayo, PRO8 RD PBGen Reynaldo H. Pawid, DILG Regional Directors, and Regional Peace and Order (RPOC) Chairpersons, among others.

Different audio-visual presentations were shown, highlighting the milestones, ways forward, and programs conducted by each member agency of NTF-ELCAC. DILG, for one, showed developments in programs like the Support to Barangay Development Program (SBDP) and the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (ECLIP), among others.

In lieu of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., the Special Assistant to the President, Antonio Lagdameo, Jr., gave the president’s message for the activity, congratulating NTF-ELCAC for their milestones and contributions to the peace and order situation of the country.

“We must take optimistic and cautious steps and strengthen our resolve to stamp out violence, terrorism, and lawlessness across our country. We need to remain vigilant and contentiously fine-tune our programs to be responsive to the call of the times,” said PBBM in his written speech as read by Sec. Lagdameo.

PBBM also affirmed his previous pronouncement regarding Proclamation 404 s. 2023, which grants amnesty to former members of various rebel groups for crimes committed under the Revised Penal Code. Likewise, DILG as a department commended the gesture of peace and reconciliation of the President by signing the following Proclamations: 403, 404, 405 and 406.

The celebration of the founding anniversary of NTF-ELCAC is in line with Executive Order No. 70, which is the cornerstone of the establishment of the task force. This is a whole-of-a-nation approach to addressing the root causes of insurgencies, internal disturbances, and tensions by prioritizing and harmonizing the delivery of basic services and development packages by the government.