Fate of NTF-ELCAC at crossroads

After the Supreme Court (SC) ruled that red-tagging is a threat to a person’s life, some members of the House of Representatives eyed the immediate scrapping of the National Task Force To End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

One solon, Manila Rep. Ernesto Dionisio Jr., however, does not buy the idea of abolishing the NTF-ELCAC, saying the agency has a crucial mandate. He said the NTF-ELCAC and other national agencies should instead be extra cautious in using the power vested in them by the state and make sure that they do not trample on people’s rights.

“There is really an important role that the NTF-ELCAC plays. But it’s just a balance. It cannot be removed totally, but the rights of our countrymen should be protected,” said Dionisio in a press briefing yesterday.

“In everything that every agency does, in doing the job that NTF-ELCAC has to do, we must remember that we do not have to trample on the rights of every Filipino citizen,” he added.

On 8 May, the SC handed down its landmark decision declaring that red-tagging, vilification, labeling, and guilt by association threaten a person’s right to life, liberty, and security, which may justify the issuance of a writ of amparo.