The National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) has called for the expansion rather than defunding of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict’s Barangay Development Program (BDP), citing its role in reducing poverty in former conflict-affected communities.

NAPC lead convenor Secretary Lope Santos III said during the FAQCheck online press conference Wednesday that more than 5,000 barangays have been covered by the BDP since 2021.

Santos said NAPC's analysis comparing BDP coverage with Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Small Area Poverty Estimates showed declining poverty incidence even in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas.

“The BDP should be expanded — not reduced. In my view, we should add more areas to the BDP, not cut it. We must connect more barangays to main roads, telecommunications, and electricity. We must bring development to lowland, upland, and coastal communities alike. That is what we are seeing,” Santos said.

“Many LGUs have now dropped to below 20% poverty incidence, and fewer municipalities remain in the highest bracket of 29% and above. This shows the BDP has been a vital vehicle for poverty reduction,” he added.

PSA data cited by Santos showed poverty incidence in Northern Samar declining from 51.8 percent in 2015 to 27.6 percent in 2018 and 19.3 percent in 2021.

In Eastern Samar, poverty incidence fell from 40.9 percent in 2018 to 24.7 percent in 2023.

Santos said similar reductions were recorded in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Caraga and the Bicol Region, as well as in barangays previously affected by communist insurgency.

He argued that armed conflict prevents government services from reaching communities and contributes to persistent poverty. Restoring peace, he said, allows the government to provide farm-to-market roads, health facilities, schools and livelihood programs.

Santos described the BDP as a convergence framework that brings together local government development plans, national government programs and community participation.

He said the program received P44 billion over five years for infrastructure, social services and livelihood assistance in cleared barangays, many of which are geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas inhabited by Indigenous Peoples, farmers and fisherfolk.

“The BDP is not the only program — it is the framework that brings everything together. That convergence — national agencies, LGUs, private sector, civil society — that is where the real power lies,” Santos said.

Amid calls from some groups to abolish or defund the NTF-ELCAC and the BDP, Santos said the government should instead build on the program’s gains.

“Our revolution is a revolution against poverty — through concrete programs, projects, and services. The NTF-ELCAC serves as a vital bridge for peace and development — and we must not turn back now. We must sustain and strengthen the program — calling on national agencies, LGUs, private sector, and civil society to converge and build on these gains,” he said.