NTF-ELCAC Stands with COMELEC in DQ Case vs Kabataan Partylist

October 30, 2025

The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) has thrown its full support behind the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) as it proceeds with the disqualification case against Kabataan Partylist, stressing that the move is not an attack on free expression but a shield to protect Filipino youth from exploitation and violent radicalization.

The case, long pending before the poll body, is anchored on testimonies from former members and Communist Party of the Philippines–New People’s Army–National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) cadres, as well as documentary evidence linking Kabataan to organizations long associated with the insurgency.

NTF-ELCAC Executive Director Undersecretary Ernesto C. Torres Jr. emphasized that contrary to claims by Kabataan Rep. Renee Co, the proceedings are not dictated by Malacañang but are part of the lawful process guaranteed under a democratic system.

“No persecution but due process is at work here,” Torres declared, stressing that COMELEC’s independence must be respected by all political groups, especially when accountability calls their actions into question.

NTF-ELCAC criticized efforts to portray the hearing as a “revival of dictatorship,” calling it a recycled narrative designed to divert attention from serious concerns over Kabataan’s alleged ties to armed groups. “Activism is not the issue,” the task force said.

“The Party-List System Act provides that organizations advocating or supporting armed rebellion may be disqualified. This case simply asks whether Kabataan truly represents the youth or has become a conduit for those who exploit them," Torres explained.

The task force underscored that genuine youth activism—demanding transparency, good governance, and reform—remains vital in a democracy. However, it warned against radicalism disguised as activism, citing the tragic deaths of young leaders from Kabataan-affiliated groups who eventually joined the NPA and perished in armed encounters.

Torres reiterated that the government’s vigilance should not be mistaken as oppression.

“The government’s vigilance is not oppression. It is protection of the Filipino youth whose passion for change is being manipulated by those who romanticize ‘people’s war,’” he said.

He added that political participation must never be used as a mask for subversion: “We defend the right of every Filipino to speak, to dissent, and to organize. But we reject the exploitation of those rights to revive the communist armed insurgency.”

NTF-ELCAC expressed confidence that the COMELEC will handle the case with fairness, transparency, and adherence to evidence, unshaken by political noise.

“The disqualification hearing is not about silencing the youth. It is about protecting them, and ensuring that representation in Congress remains a privilege of those who uphold peace, not those who betray it,” Torres concluded.