ELCAC

The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) is a task force organized by the executive department of the Philippine government to synchronize the government's instrumentalities of power with the capabilities of private sector stakeholders to end 50 years of deceit, lies and atrocities committed by communist terrorists against the Filipino people.

History  

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte issued Executive Order 70 (EO 70) on December 2018, providing for a Whole-of-Nation approach in defeating local communist terrorist groups and obtaining sustainable peace throughout the Philippines.

Lauding the significant gains of the NTF-ELCAC on Jan. 4, 2020, then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Lt. General Felimon T. Santos said,  “Unlike in the past when local chief executives left the insurgency problem solely to the AFP and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to deal with, EO 70 involves all government agencies—from the national to the barangay level, with delineated roles and responsibilities in the Whole-of-Nation approach.”

“Government agencies and their corresponding units at all levels cooperate, interact, support, provide practical solutions and solve problems and issues on the ground that are being exploited by these communist terrorists in order to stir-up our countrymen to fight against our government through armed struggle,” Santos said.

“This multi-pronged approach addresses the motivation for insurgency and will, hopefully, put an end to its treacherous life cycle,” Santos said, adding that “by doing so, there will be no reason for the Communist Party of the Philippines, its armed wing, the New People's Army, and the National Democratic Front to agitate, organize and mobilize the vulnerable sectors and communities.”

Composition

The NTF-ELCAC is headed by President Duterte, sitting as NTF Commander  and Chairman; National Secrity Adviser Hermogenes C. Esperon Jr., as Vice-chairman; and Allen A. Capuyan, as Executive Director.

The task force is composed of the following operational clusters:

Cluster	Agencies Involved	Operating Principle
Situational Awareness and Knowledge Management Cluster (SAKM)	Lead: NICA DG Alex Monteagudo Support: DND, DILG, AFP, PNP, NBI, PIA, PPSC, PNTI, NCIP, PCOO	Lead by the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA), this cluster shall provide and disseminate timely and accurate information and assessment on situations regarding communist terror groups; and guidance to the Whole-of-Nation Team in order to support the objective to end the local communist armed conflict.
Local Government Empowerment Cluster (LGE)	Lead: DILG USec. Marlo Iringan Support: DOJ, DOF, NCIP, DND, AFP, PNP, PCOO	With the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) as the lead agency, this cluster shall revisit and enhance the policy direction, capacity building strategies, project development support, and ensure security and justice among the local government. The cluster shall ensure that the LGUs, Iocally- based institutions, and other stakeholders are sustainably taking the lead in peace building efforts at the local level.
Legal Cooperation Cluster (LCC)	Lead: OSG Justice Angelita Miranda Support: DOJ, NBI, NICA, AFP, PNP, ISAFP, NCIP, DAR, NCIP, PCOO	Lead by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), this cluster shall enhance the policy direction and capacity building strategies through the fortification of the legal arms of all the agencies and units of the government and their stakeholders by equipping them with effective and adequate legal skills and knowledge relevant to the communist-terrorist predicaments confronting the government's efforts to put an end to local communist armed conflict.
Strategic Communication Cluster (SC)	Lead: PCOO Usec. Lorraine Marie Badoy Support: DEPED, CHED, AFP, PNP, NICA, NCIP, DAR	Lead by the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), this cluster shall conduct strategic communications  efforts to effectively disseminate information on government programs and counter the national propaganda of the CTG, while creating external mechanisms to facilitate public engagement and policy support.
Sectoral Unification, Capacity Building and Empowerment Cluster (SUCBEM)	Lead: DOLE, DA, DEPED, NCIP, DILG, OPAIPC, PCUP, PCW, NYC, CHED, BFAR, NAPC. DILG USec. Marlo Iringan Support: DND, AFP, PNP, NICA, DSWD, OPAPRU, DOJ, PCOO, DAR	Lead by the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), this cluster shall conduct strategic communications  efforts to effectively disseminate information on government programs and counter the national propaganda of the CTG, while creating external mechanisms to facilitate public engagement and policy support.
Sectoral Unification, Capacity Building and Empowerment Cluster (SUCBEM)	Lead: DOLE, DA, DEPED, NCIP, DILG, OPAIPC, PCUP, PCW, NYC, CHED, BFAR, NAPC. DILG USec. Marlo Iringan Support: DND, AFP, PNP, NICA, DSWD, OPAPRU, DOJ, PCOO, DAR	Lead by eleven (11) National of Government Agencies (NGAs) composed Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of (DepEd), National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), Office of the Presidential Adviser on Indigenous Peoples Concerns (OPAIPC), Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP), Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), National Youth Commission (NYC), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), and DILG, the cluster shall engage, unify, capacitate, empower, and mobilize all sectors of society to be free and resistant to the Communist-Terrorist operations and infiltrations as well as to positively assert government authority and genuine peoples' sovereignty for the effective and efficient implementation of programs to strengthen and reinforce the realization of good governance, enduring peace and sustainable development, in order to significantly contribute to totally eradicate the local communist armed conflict by 2022
Basic Services Cluster	Lead: DILG USec. Marlo Iringan Support: DSWD, DEPED, DOH, CHED, DOLE, DOJ, DILG, DAR, NCIP, DND, NHA, HUDCC, AFP, PNP, PCOO, OPAPP, NAPC	Lead by DILG, this cluster shall provide responsive delivery of basic services in order to contribute to the establishment of conflict-resilient, sustainable, and economically developed communities’ with the Retooled Community Support Program (RCSP) as its primary vehicle.
Poverty Reduction, Livelihood and Employment Cluster  (PRLEC)	Lead: TESDA USec. Gabriel Quisumbing Support: DA, DAR, TESDA, DTI, LBP, DOT, PCA, NIA, DENR, NCIP, DSWD, BFAR, CDA, NCIP, DAR, DILG, AFP, PNP, PCOO, OPAPP, NAPC	Lead by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), this cluster shall establish decisive and institutionalized, as well as responsive measures, which would significantly address poverty affectation among marginalized communities and basic sectors, and also to balance the equitable resource distribution and create dynamic, economic, livelihood, and income opportunities. Further, it shall address the pervasive issues of land conflict and other related rural community issues, and develop stable employment conditions in different industries of the country with specific emphasis on poverty alleviation package and sustainable economic interventions for basic sectors.
Infrastructure, Resource Management and Employment Cluster (IRM)	Lead: DENR, DPWH 1. DPWH USec. Maximo L. Carvajal 2. DENR ASec. Nonita S. Caguioa Support: DA, DOTr, DOE,CCC, DAR, NCIP, AFP, PNP, PCOO, OPAPRU	Co-lead by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for Infrastructure, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for Resource Management, the cluster shall provide adequate just, equitable, and sustainable infrastructure development and resource management programs in order to accelerate the delivery of basic services and contribute to the attainment of peace, rural development, and national industrialization.
Localized Peace Engagement Cluster (LPE)	Lead: DILG & OPAPRU DIL USec. Marlo Iringan Support: DND, DEPED, DOJ, DOH, DPWH, NIA, NEA, NICA, AFP, PNP, NCIP, DAR, PCOO	Co-lead by DILG and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), this cluster shall strengthen capacities of national and local governance actors to effectively address socio-economic divides, create modalities, and strengthen capacities of communities to resist violence and participate in peace building and development to achieve community resiliency and cultural harmony
Peace, Law Enforcement and Development Support Cluster (PLEDS)	Lead: DND USec. Cesar B. Yano Support: AFP, PNP, DILG, NBI,PCG, NCIP, PCOO	Lead by the Department of National Defense (DND), this cluster shall conduct inter-agency operations to defeat the Communist Terrorist Groups (CTGs) and its support structure in order to contribute to the objectives of the NTF-ELCAC.
E-CLIP and Amnesty Program Cluster (EAP)	Lead: DND & DILG DND USec. Reynaldo B. Mapagu Support: DOJ, OP, DSWD, HUDCC, NHA, NCIP, DOH, TESDA, DTI,DAR, DA, DEPED, CHED, PHIL HEALTH, NICA, AFP, PNP, PCOO	Co-lead by DND and DILG, the cluster shall act as the central coordinating body that will supervise the Reintegration Efforts for Former Rebels from the CPP-NPA-NDF, as well as their immediate family members.
International Engagement Cluster (IE)	Lead: DFA DFA USec. Brigido J. Dulay Support: DOJ, ISAFP, NICA, BI, DOLE, NCIP, AFP, PNP, PCOO, PHRCS	Lead by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), this cluster shall engage and conduct advocacy campaign focused on international organizations such as the United Nations, European Union, etc., Philippine Embassies, and Overseas Filipino Communities to counter the negative impacts of the International Solidarity Works (ISW) of the Communist Terrorist Groups (CTGs) on the development and state of peace in the Philippine society.

Spokespersons

The NTF-ELCAC currently has eight spokespersons. Their official designations and the ELCAC subjects and topics covered by them are as follows:

Spokespersons	Official Designations and Agency	Coverage of ELCAC subjects and topics
LtGen Antonio G. Parlade Jr.	Commander, Southern Luzon Command AFP	Security Sector Operations
USec Lorraine Marie T. Badoy	Undersecretary, New Media and External Affairs PCOO	Social Media Affairs, Sectoral Concerns
USec Jonathan E. Malaya	Undersecretary, Plans, Public Affairs and Communication DILG	Local Government Affairs, Barangay Development Program
USec Severo S. Catura	Undersecretary, Presidential Human Rights Committee Secretariat	International Affairs, Peace Process, Human Rights Concerns
USec Jose Joel M. Sy Egco	Undersecretary, Presidential Task Force on Media Security	Mass Media Engagement, Fact-Checker
Asec Celine B. Pialoago	Spokesperson, Metro Manila Development Authority	NTF-ELCAC Public Affairs and Information Youth Concerns
Dir Marlon P. Bosantog	Regional Director, Cordillera Autonomous Region Regional Director, CARAGA Region NCIP	Legal Affairs, Indigenous Peoples Concerns
Ms Gaye V. Florendo	NCIP	Assistant Spokesperson on NTF-ELCAC Public Affairs and on Indigenous Peoples Concerns