Amidst the continuing success of the security sector in addressing the communist insurgency, the government seeks to further broaden its efforts in harmonizing public, private and community activities in solving the insurgency issue. Thus, the Executive Order No. 70 was signed on 4 December 2018 creating the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC). EO 70 shifts the traditional military-centric approach into a civilian-led approach. Furthermore, it institutionalizes the Whole-of-Nation-Approach as a government policy for the attainment of inclusive and sustainable peace.

At the regional level, the NEDA RO2 serves several important roles in the RTF-ELCAC. In a meeting held on June 16 at the NEDA RO2 Pamegafanan Hall, the staff discussed updates on the implementation of EO 70 or the Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF-ELCAC) in the region.

Assignments were likewise reviewed with the staff affirming their commitment to sustain their involvement in the RTF-ELCAC lines of effort (LoE), namely, (1) situational awareness and knowledge management, (2) local government empowerment, (3) legal cooperation, (4) strategic communication, (5) sectoral unification, capacity-building and empowerment, (6) basic services, (7) poverty reduction, livelihood and employment, (8) infrastructure, resource management and employment, (9) localized peace engagement, (10) peace, law enforcement and development support, and (11) E-CLIP and amnesty program.

As shared by the focal divisions, the task force through its working clusters were able to produce significant accomplishments that catered to the needs for its stakeholders since the RTF creation in 2019. The task force also uplifted and empowered the target communities through the advocacy programs, infrastructure projects, capacity development initiatives, policy support and other forms of assistance.

The NEDA activity was attended by all staff and with the presence of Regional Director Dionisio C. Ledres, Jr.  #NEDA-DRD