Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon has called out Senator Ronald Dela Rosa for cursing at lawmakers who want the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) defunded.
Dela Rosa in a previous interview called the critics of NTF-ELCAC "bwisit" who only think about politics and do not want the ruling administration to be successful in addressing the nation's problems.
But Drilon denied such claims.
"Hindi ito pamumulitika. Ito ay pangangalaga ng pera ng taumbayan," Drilon said in a statement. "Walang pamumulitika. Ito ay tamang paggamit ng pera ng taumbayan."
(This is not politicking. This is taking care of the country’s money. There is no politicking, this is only for the correct use of Filipinos’ funds.)
He also told Dela Rosa to stop name-calling and stick to the issue.
"Stop the name-calling. It will not get us anywhere. It is an insult to the senators and the institution we belong to. Let's stick to the issue," he also said.
Senators early this month slashed the proposed 2022 budget of the administration's anti-insurgency task force by P24 million, before realigning them to various pandemic response programs.
These programs include the compensation of health workers and procurement of COVID-19 booster shots for Filipinos, according to Senator Sonny Angara.
Drilon supported this move and said the barangays getting benefits from programs of NTF-ELCAC can still receive support from different agencies.
"Sa akin po, sinusuportahan ko ang decision ni Sen. Angara. Ang proyekto sa barangay, maraming pwedeng magbigay diyan: DA (Department of Agriculture), DOH (Department of Health), DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways), DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development). Nakakalat sa iba't ibang ahensya. Ang lumalabas na itong NTF-ELCAC na lang ang maitutulong sa barangay, hindi po tama iyan," Drilon said.
(For me, I support the decision of Senator Angara. The projects to barangays can still be given by other agencies: DA, DOH, DPWH, DSWD. They are in different agencies. To say that NTF-ECLAC is our only help to barangays is wrong.)
The budget of the NTF-ELCAC went under scrutiny after the alleged misuse of the agency's funds in 2021.
