Phl officials lash out at UN rapporteur’s call for NTF ELCAC abolition

Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa on Thursday called out United Nations Special Rapporteur Ian Fry for suggesting the abolition of the country's anti-insurgency task force.

Dela Rosa expressed strong disagreement with Fry's comment that the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict is "operating with impunity."

He defended the NTF ELCAC was created to address gaps within government and people.

"That is why we are in quandary right now… NTF-ELCAC is all about good governance and delivery of basic services to the communities and they are not involved in armed confrontation with the enemies of the state," said Dela Rosa, as he expressed dismay over the UN expert's comment.

"Why are they lambasting the NTF ELCAC? Maybe they are being fed with wrong information," he continued.

Dela Rosa believes that Fry may have been misinformed by the leftist
groups about the works of the NTF ELCAC.

Fry was on a 10-day visit to the Philippines several meetings with different civil society organizations and government officials to talk about the country's climate change policies when he made the recommendation to "disband" the government's anti-insurgency task force.

In a statement on Wednesday evening, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said Fry's report must be "deemed incomplete"

He said Fry should have raised his human rights concerns directly with the NTF ELCAC officials.

"Fry, in his capacity as a UNSR on a country visit, has been given the freedom to move and inquire on matters related to his mandate. But apparently, due to reasons beyond us, he has not exercised this to its full potential," he said.

"In the interest of fairness and justice, he should have raised his concerns with us to ensure that he has full appreciation of the body's mandate, operations, and overall directions," he added.

Año assured Fry that NT ELCAC "is a working and effective human rights mechanism founded on the principles of good and inclusive governance and we could have helped him define it in his study."

The national security adviser said the government could have provided Fry "valuable inputs on how ow the NTF-ELCAC has brought peace and development in far-flung communities."

"Reiterating that Fry has had a very limited time in his visit, we extend an open invitation to him for a dialogue in the near future before he finalizes his report. We would consider his acceptance of this offer as an indication to truly preserve the integrity of his mandate to engage States on matters of human rights in an inclusive, impartial, and non-discriminatory manner," said Año.

In a separate press conference on Thursday, National Youth Commission chairperson, Ronald Cardema, said the UN special rapporteur should declare Persona non-grata in the country.

Cardema stressed Fry has no knowledge about the operations of the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People's Army.

"Anong alam niya sa activities ng CPP-NPA dito sa bansa at kung paano sila magrecruit sa mga paaralan? Hindi niya alam. Bakit niya sasabihin na i-abolish? (What does he know about the CPP-NPA activities and how it recruits in the students in the country)," he said.

Cardema said the operations of the NTF ELCAC have been very successful since its creation in the past five years.

"Bakit siya pupunta sa Pilipinas at makikialam siya at sasabihing i-abolish? (Why would he go here to interfere and tell us to abolish (NTF ELCAC)," he said, noting that Fry knows nothing about the government's valid solution to end the rebellion in the country.