NTF-Elcac rejects Church criticism: P8B for villages not as ‘reward’

MANILA, Philippines — The proposed P8.08 billion allocation for conflict-affected barangays was not a discretionary fund or a “reward for peace” tied to counterinsurgency efforts, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) said on Thursday. The task force, pushing back against criticism from Catholic groups, explained that the amount refers to