NTF-ELCAC allots socioeconomic development funds for ‘liberated’ barangays in Bicol

By Jovee Marie De La Cruz / BusinessMirror

Hundreds of barangays in the Bicol region are set to receive funding from the Congress-approved Barangay Development Program (BDP) for their socioeconomic development until 2022 after gaining freedom from New People’s Army (NPA) influence and threats.

In a news statement, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) has announced the release of funds to 15 barangays in Sorsogon; 26 in Masbate, eight in Camarines Norte and several others.

National Security Adviser Secretary Hermogenes Esperon, vice chairman of the NTF-ELCAC, said by 2022 another batch of 282 barangays also in the Bicol region will be receiving projects under the BDP. Each barangay, certified as NPA-free, will be receiving P20 million worth of infrastructure and livelihood projects.

For 2021, President Duterte, chairman of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and Congress approved the P16.4 billion for BDP.

Esperon said the NTF-ELCAC underscored the inclusion of the Bicol region in the program because the presence of the Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA in the said areas has stunted the development of the provinces and the entire region.

Citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Esperon said Bicol region posted 7 percent unemployment and 20.3 percent underemployment rates as of April 2021. Also, poverty incidence in the