Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 20) – The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the controversial National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) for failing to liquidate funds amounting to over ₱33.4 million.
The state auditors noted in its 2021 audit report on the Office of the President (OP) that the National Security Council (NSC), the designated secretariat of NTF-ELCAC, received over ₱52.9 million to fund the controversial task force.
“As of December 31, 2021, the unliquidated balance of the fund amounted to ₱33,445,805.43,” the state audit body said in its report.
Based on the COA report, NTF-ELCAC’s unliquidated funds covered its ₱18.4 million fund transfer to NSC in April 2021 and the ₱15 million fund transfer to the same body in October 2021.
The COA report also stated the OP allocated ₱65.1 million for NTF-ELCAC, but only ₱52.9 million were transferred to the NSC.
The NTF-ELCAC received such funding allotment to implement the government’s “whole-of-nation approach” in ending insurgency in the country, which is the main objective of the task force when it was created by former president Rodrigo Duterte in December 2018 through Executive Order No. 70.
However, former national security adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. maintained all of the anti-insurgency task force’s funds last year have been liquidated.
“We have liquidated all 2021 OP funds for NTF-ELCAC,” Esperon told reporters on Tuesday.
Last year, some senators lobbied to defund NTF-ELCAC for allegations of red-tagging certain individuals and organizations.
