Officials from the National Capital Region Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict said red-tagging does not exist and is only a creation of communist groups.

National Intelligence Coordinating Agency Director Dennis Godfrey Gammad said this the during Philippine Information Agency’s Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas media forum at the Philippine Information Agency office in Quezon City on Tuesday.

“The insurgency has been fighting us for 56 years but in the previous 52 years, have we heard about red tagging? No, it’s only a make-believe. If they're hurt by the allegations of insurgency, then it must be true,” Gammad said.

The issue of red tagging only surfaced after the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Gammad, because of insurgency groups trying to recruit more members.

“We’re only targeting the progressive groups that their own leader, Joma Sison, have identified. All the government is doing is telling the truth because it’s the insurgents who are twisting the facts,” Gammad added.

Gammad also presented various programs against insurgency, emphasizing a whole-of-nation approach in addressing the issue, praising the effective coordination of regional offices in National Capital Region (NCR) in providing livelihood programs, capacity building seminars, and other activities to encourage the return of rebels into the system.

“In the past 56 years, the responsibility for tackling insurgency had been largely placed on the police and military which resulted in minimal progress, but through the NCRTF-ELCAC, not only is the insurgency problem addressed but the standard of living of the citizens are also being improved,” Gammad said.

The NCRTF-ELCAC initiated projects such as the Enhanced Comprehensive Integration Program (E-CLIP) that provides cash assistance, education, livelihood training, housing, and employment assistant to former combatants, with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) spearheading such. Yzabela Velez-White/DMS