Gabriela strongly condemned the NTF-Elcac for its continuing plunder of the taxpayers’ money. The task force’s corruption was exposed during the budget hearing of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) on September 8.

The DILG reportedly contracted over 700 engineers for NTF-Elcac projects. The massive contracting of engineers exposes the agency’s real nature as a corrupt machinery of military officials and their cronies. They channel the billions they amass through infrastructure projects under the Barangay Development Program.

The involvement of AFP engineering brigades in suspicious projects proves that the NTF-Elcac is nothing more than the “pork barrel” of generals, Gabriela said. Similar to the widespread corruption in the US-Marcos regime’s anomalous flood control projects, most of the NTF-Elcac’s infrastructure projects remained unfinished, incomplete, or merely ghost projects.

Based on the report, none of the task force’s 885 barangay projects for 2024 was completed. Despite this, billions continue to be allocated to this corrupt agency.

“The NTF-ELCAC must be abolished immediately. It has proven itself to be nothing but a tool for state terrorism, red-tagging, and now, large-scale corruption,” Gabriela explained.

Gabriela called for all officials involved in the large-scale plunder of public funds to be held accountable.