NTF-ELCAC: BDP and E-CLIP are Lifelines, Not Ghost Projects

October 5, 2025

The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) has strongly defended the Barangay Development Program (BDP) and the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) against what it called “tired accusations” by groups it described as peace and development spoilers.

In a statement, NTF-ELCAC Executive Director Undersecretary Ernesto C. Torres Jr. said critics like Karapatan continue to brand the flagship anti-insurgency programs as tools of repression or corruption while ignoring the communities who are the real decision-makers and beneficiaries.

“Farm-to-market roads, health stations, classrooms, water systems, and electrification are not propaganda lines, they are lifelines,” Torres stressed. “These tangible improvements cut the isolation armed groups exploited, and they undermine the recruitment machine that thrived on neglect.”

Torres emphasized that the BDP and E-CLIP are not state impositions but a “mass movement” driven by local government units, line agencies, peace stakeholders, and communities themselves. This convergence, he said, has resulted in the dismantling of all active guerilla fronts and the reclamation of once-rebel-controlled barangays. Where revolutionary groups once promised change, Torres noted, the BDP has delivered steady gains in peace and development, empowering communities to choose progress over armed conflict.

The task force also slammed criticisms of a supposed 314% budget increase for the BDP as “blatantly deceptive,” explaining that the allocation varies annually depending on the number of barangays cleared of insurgency. “There is a pattern in the attacks. Infrastructure is singled out as suspect, and reintegration benefits are dismissed as fabricated. But not once have these critics listened to a single former rebel who returned to civilian life,” Torres said. “To vilify the recovery of hundreds of thousands of Filipinos who chose to come home is to kick sand in their faces.”

NTF-ELCAC turned the tables on its critics, pointing to “foreign-funded initiatives that profit from misrepresentation” by packaging local grievances as human rights abuses for international consumption. “If we are worried about phantom projects, we must inspect these operations that monetize misery and export a skewed narrative of our country to international audiences,” Torres declared.

While calling the attacks “anti-peace and anti-development,” Torres affirmed that the programs remain open to full transparency. “Yes, governance must always answer to accountability. We welcome proper audits and inquiries by the Commission on Audit, the Ombudsman, the DILG, and credible civil society organizations,” he said. Torres even invited critics, including Makabayan bloc lawmakers, to join on-the-ground investigations “if they are truly sincere and not content with soundbites.”

The NTF-ELCAC’s message is clear: targeting programs that directly address systemic neglect is not only misplaced but harmful. “Attacking the BDP and E-CLIP without proof is an attack on the communities themselves, the former rebels who risked everything to return, and the organizations now working inside the law to improve lives,” Torres concluded. “If anyone deserves abolition, it is the politics that profit from conflict and the narratives that keep wounds open.”