HOUSE of Representatives Assistant Minority Leader Renee Co on Monday pressed the officials of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to justify a 340-percent increase in the budget for the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac).

Co raised the issue during the House budget hearing attended by DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla and other department officials.

Co cited negative reports from United Nations Special Rapporteur Irene Khan and the European Union’s election observation mission.

“For the first time, the NTF-Elcac received negative reviews from the international community,” Co said. “The UN Special Rapporteur even recommended the abolishing of this task force.”

Lawmaker questions 340% NTF-ELCAC budget increase

She noted that the task force’s budget surged from P1.95 billion in 2025 to P8.08 billion in 2026 — a 340-percent increase — “despite findings, reviews, and recommendations from international bodies to abolish this agency.”

Co also warned that the Barangay Development Program (BDP), where the funds are directed, has been linked to rights violations through red-tagging.

“There are instances where students are called to the barangay and asked to declare what organization they belong to,” she said. “Some are even discouraged from joining other organizations, ours included. This is very alarming.”

Remulla defended the allocation, saying it came from the BDP, which provides P10 million to each insurgency-cleared barangay.

“The increase in the budget was because of the audit of the barangay that are cleared,” Remulla said. “The budget was recommended at P10 million per barangay for development funds.”

He said that in previous years, the allocation was slashed by half or one-third, “but this year the President asked that the full allocation be given.”

Co also wanted to know if BDP infrastructure projects were being implemented properly.

Lawmaker questions 340% NTF-ELCAC budget increase, This news data comes from:http://idw-ax-hv-stan.aichuwei.com

“We looked at farm-to-market roads, school buildings, health stations, water systems, and electrification,” she said. “But one of the issues here is that there are a lot of autonomous infrastructure projects, so we have to ensure that they are implemented properly.”

Remulla replied by correcting “the misimpression that the people might be getting. To compare this to the flood control projects is uncalled for, ma’am. Number one, it does not go through the DPWH. It goes straight from DBM straight to the LGU. Number two, the amounts are very small and meant for barangay development.”

Co further pressed DILG on the 50-percent cut in the National Youth Commission’s budget.

DILG officials took turns in explaining that the reduction only involved congressional insertions in 2025.