NTF-ELCAC RAISES ALARM BELLS: Anti-Red-Tagging Bill a Dangerous Shield for Terror Enablers

July 2, 2025

The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) has raised urgent alarm bells over the proposed Anti-Red-Tagging Bill, warning that it is not a safeguard for democracy but a dangerous shield for those who enable terrorism under the guise of legality.

Framed as a protection against malicious labeling, the bill threatens to criminalize legitimate national security disclosures, muzzle the voices of former rebels and victims of insurgency, and embolden the underground networks of the CPP-NPA-NDF that thrive on deception and infiltration.

“Let us be clear—this bill does not protect the innocent. It protects those who exploit our freedoms to destroy them,” said NTF-ELCAC Executive Director Ernesto C. Torres Jr. “It risks turning truth-tellers into criminals, while shielding the enablers of insurgency under the cloak of victimhood.”

At its core, the proposed legislation could criminalize legitimate disclosures—statements based on intelligence reports, sworn testimonies of former rebels, and the lived realities of communities once besieged by communist terrorist influence. By silencing those who expose front organizations and their deep ties to the CPP-NPA-NDF, the bill empowers deception and enables impunity.

“There is nothing democratic about protecting organizations that radicalize children, extort farmers, and infiltrate legal institutions,” Torres said. “If passed, this bill will gag our security forces, silence our communities, and embolden the architects of subversion.”

NTF-ELCAC is not a repressive body—it is a nationwide peace-building movement. The task force has successfully helped bring peace and development to over 9,300 formerly conflict-ridden barangays, facilitating the surrender and reintegration of thousands of former rebels. Through its Barangay Development Program, it has poured ₱36.823 billion into communities, with another 4,506 barangays set to benefit between 2026 and 2028.

Additional achievements include:

₱230 million allocated for sitio electrification through 749 Serbisyo Caravans;

Over ₱10 billion in critical infrastructure by the DPWH;

Innovative programs like Peace Farms (DA) and Geospatial Monitoring (DENR) tackling the root causes of insurgency—poverty, isolation, and neglect.

“These gains were not won through censorship or propaganda, but through painful truths, bold governance, and unyielding resolve,” Torres stressed. “To now suggest that exposing terrorist support networks is a criminal act is to betray everything we have fought for.”

NTF-ELCAC also blasted the selective indignation of the bill’s proponents, questioning their deafening silence when children were recruited into armed conflict, when rural communities were bled dry by revolutionary taxation, and when women were sexually abused within underground cadres.

“Where were the so-called defenders of rights when innocent lives were shattered by the very groups they now protect?” Torres asked. “Who raised their voices when student activists were buried with NPA fighters in the hills?”

The task force emphasized that while it condemns reckless and baseless labeling, the proposed bill dangerously lumps truth-telling with malicious attacks, opening the door to the weaponization of victimhood by front organizations and their handlers.

“We call on Congress to legislate with eyes wide open—not blinded by false narratives,” Torres said. “Peace cannot be built on lies. Democracy cannot be defended by silencing those who expose its enemies.”

NTF-ELCAC reaffirmed its commitment to a peace founded on truth, justice, and genuine reforms. “We will never be intimidated by bad faith. We will never allow this nation to fall prey to wolves in sheep’s clothing,” Torres declared.