No pigs nor carabaos promised by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the National Task Force-Elcac to farmers and indigenous minorities arrived in the barangays of Abra. Not even a piglet, residents said. These commitments are part of the “agricultural support” with funds from the Support to Barangay Development Program (SBDP) of NTF-Elcac.

The residents angrily said the expenses they incurred for building the cages for the promised animals have gone to waste. Instead of carabaos, they were provided with a few plants. Instead of pigs, every resident were given four chicks.

People were made to appear stupid when the AFP gave out feeds for pigs even when no piglets were given. NTF-Elcac also distributed feeds for fish when there are no fishponds in the area, and neither were fingerlings provided.

In Abra province, NTF-Elcac placed 28 barangays under the SBDP project starting in 2021. A staggering ₱236.7 million was allocated for it. Despite this, the barangays did not benefit from the livelihood and development projects that the program supposedly funded.

According to the New People’s Army (NPA)-Abra, “The people of the province know that the SBDP has become a milking cow of AFP officials. They have pocketed its billions of funds and has provided no benefit to the barangays.”