ILOILO City – The Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF-ELCAC) will be in full swing next year, according to the peace and order council in Western Visayas.
Ariel Iglesia, regional director of the Department of the Interior and Local Government in the region, said the RTF-ELCAC will be fully operational on Jan. 2020.
“The clusters (of the RTF-ELCAC) are already complete but not fully operational. The clusters are conducting efforts and hopefully next year, it will be in full swing,” Iglesia added.
The clusters include the local government empowerment, international engagement, legal cooperation, strategic communication, basic services, livelihood and poverty alleviation, and infrastructure and resources management.
The region has also put in place clusters such as peace and development, situational awareness and knowledge management, localized peace and engagement, the enhanced comprehensive local integration program, and sectoral unification capacity living and empowerment.
Iglesia said all of the provinces in the region have organized their respective provincial TF-ELCAC.
“On the level of municipalities, it is still not complete but our efforts are ongoing,” he added.
Aside from the thrust against insurgency, Iglesia said the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) was also tasked to oversee the situation of illegal drugs and the overall peace and order situation in the region.
The newly-appointed RPOC members chaired by Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. of Iloilo gathered for their first meeting last week.
The meeting was attended by Environment secretary Roy Cimatu as the Cabinet Officer for Regional Development and Security.
The RPOC has set its regular meeting every Wednesday of the last month of the quarter.
“We will meet in March for the updating of accomplishments and plans,” said Iglesia.(With a report from PNA/PN)
