MANILA - The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) is elated by the electoral loss of party-list groups linked to the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF). In a press statement on Sunday, NTF ELCAC spokesperson for sectoral concerns and Communications Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy thanked Filipinos for not voting for Reds-linked party-list groups Bayan Muna and Anakpawis. "The expulsion, particularly of Bayan Muna, is of notable worth because for 21 years, they have formidably sat in Congress, garnering the allowable maximum seats, three-while using the immense powers of Congress to destroy our people and our country and wasting the precious time of our real Representatives in Congress with their filibustering and their constant obstruction of important legislative work meant to move our country forward and ease the burdens of the most marginalized among us," Badoy said. She said Bayan
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BDP PROJECT. Residents of Barangay Magangit in Maco town, Davao de Oro receives their newly-constructed health center from the government's Barangay Development Program (BDP) under the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) on Feb. 8, 2022. The program aims to eradicate the root causes of the insurgency, poverty, disease, lack of education and opportunities, and social injustice in far-flung communities across the country identified to have been influenced by the communist ideology. (Photo courtesy of Davao de Oro PIO) MANILA - The slashed budget of the government's anti-insurgency task force will not only affect this year's nationwide implementation of the Barangay Development Program (BDP) but also "breaks the hearts" of the beneficiary communities. In a press conference on Monday, National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) spokesperson and Communications Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy lamented that hundre
Batasan Pambansa. (File photo) MANILA - The party-list system should not be abused as "gateways" by the rich and powerful to occupy seats in government, nor as "legal fronts" by communist rebels, a lawmaker on Friday said. In an interview, Ang Probinsyano Party-List Representative Alfred delos Santos said party-list groups should genuinely represent the interest of marginalized sectors, as intended under the 1987 Constitution. "The party-list system should not be used as a gateway of those aspiring seats in Congress, nor should it be used by people allegedly serving as legal fronts of communist rebels seeking to overthrow the government," he said. He emphasized that party-list groups play an important role in the country's political system because they are the "voice" of the marginalized and underrepresented. "We are aware of reports that there are doubts on some party-list groups but from our end, I can very well say that we are among t
Deputy Speaker Bernadette Herrera (File photo) MANILA - A leader of the House of Representatives on Thursday stressed the need to amend the party-list system to ensure that its purpose of giving greater representation to the marginalized and disadvantaged is achieved. In a media forum, Deputy Speaker Bernadette Herrera said the term "marginalized" should be properly defined to make sure that the marginalized sectors or groups, including labor, peasant, urban poor, indigenous cultural communities, women, youth, and other such sectors are given representation in Congress as originally envisioned under the 1987 Constitution. "There's really a need to amend the party-list law. You have to properly define what marginalized means," Herrera said. "My stand is that yung sector na hindi naririnig, yung sector na hindi napupush ang agenda nila, yun ang kinakailangan irepresent sa Congress (the sector that has no voice to push its agenda should be represented in Congr