Govt confident NPA’s reign of terror will end by 2022

The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) is confident that the government can end the New People’s Army's (NPA) reign of terror within President Rodrigo Duterte’s term.

According to NTF-ELCAC Vice Chairman Sec. Hermogenes Esperon during the Kapihan sa Ilocos on Tuesday, the President's deadline of ending the communist terrorist group (CTG) can be achieved by the Task Force, based on the rate at which "tired" NPA combatants are surrendering.

“Self-imposed namin iyan at si Pangulo, dahil siya ang Chairman ng NTF-ELCAC. He wants to finish the NPA by July 2022. Sa estimate ko lang from their current strength of about 3,500, palagay ko baba na iyan. Mabilis na ang pagbaba niyan dahil ang dami ang nagsusurender. So, kung ito’y baba ng halimbawa ng 2,000 nationwide, magiging law and order problem na lang ito. Ibig sabihin primarily pulis na lang ang hahawak sa kanila at local governments,” Esperon said.

He said the NTF-ELCAC is faithfully following a timeline, but he also knew that there would still be some supporters to remain and several issues to be solved in the next administration. “Paspasan ito marami ng mabubuwag, madami na ang magsusurender,” Esperon, also the National Security Adviser, added.

The official, who attended the last State of the Nation Address (SONA) of Duterte, commented on Tuesday’s Laban Para sa Bayan TV Program that he particularly liked the President’s view on insurgency, which can only be solved through a “whole-of-a-nation” approach and not by military force alone.

“Ang sabi niya hindi masosolve iyan ng military lang kundi kailangan talaga natin the whole of nation approach. Kaya tuwang tuwa kami dahil he was true all the way as Chairman of the National Task Force ELCAC. Sinabi niya kung ano yung kanyang framework to solve this insurgency,” Esperon said.

In his SONA, Duterte said, “Peace and Security is not only just a military concern. That's why we deviated from the traditional purely military approach in dealing with matters of national security. Wit