Quezon city: The government has moved toward ensuring that barangays formerly controlled by the New People’s Army (NPA) remain free of the communist rebels’ influence. “This ensures that hard-won peace is irreversible and that communities once trapped in fear now move toward stability, governance, and development,” the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) said Wednesday.

According to Philippines News Agency, the anti-communist body stated that this is a “decisive new phase” of its peace campaign aimed at securing, sustaining, and insulating the barangays from NPA influence. “This new phase signals a clear national resolve: no liberated barangay will fall back into fear. No hard-won peace will be surrendered,” it said.

This step is included in the Joint Regional Task Force (JRTF) Operational Plans that National Security Adviser and NTF-ELCAC Vice Chairman Eduardo Año approved during the task force’s Inter-Regional and Inter-Cluster Summit held in Quezon City on Nov. 27 and 28
. Año’s approval, the NTF-ELCAC said, affirms the plans’ alignment with national peace and development priorities and authorizes their synchronized nationwide implementation.

During the event, NTF-ELCAC executive director Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr. challenged participants – leaders of all JRTFs and National Clusters – to anchor the implementation of the plans on integrity, unity, and accountability. “Treat these plans not as mere documents, but as our shared pledge to the Filipino people. Let us be honest in our assessments. Bold in our ideas. Firm in our accountability. And united in our commitment to Build Peace Better,” Torres told the participants.