Ferdinand Marcos Jr again defended the fascist agency NTF-Elcac amid relentless calls to abolish the agency. In a statement on March 26, he said that the agency will “continue” and that it has been “successful” and that”investment” in it needs to be continued. This was boasted by an official of NTF-Elcac, saying that Marcos was “encouraged” because of the agency’s “reports”.

“Reports? Does he mean reports that there were 119 extrajudicial killings, 76 frustrated extrajudicial killings, 14 enforced disappearances, 762 political prisoners and 3,706,431 cases of threats, harassment and intimidation as of the end of 2024?” Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay asked.

Karapatan, along with many democratic organizations, has long called for the abolition of NTF-Elcac, an agency created under Rodrigo Duterte, and continued and even set for increased funding by Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Karapatan is committed to block Marcos’s attempt to increase the agency’s funding and resources.

“We will step up our campaign to have it abolished and consigned to the dustbins as a filthy relic of the Marcos Jr and Duterte regimes,” Palabay said.

On March 25, Karapatan released its annual report regarding the crimes of the Marcos Jr regime since it came to power. In this report, the group said that Marcos Jr undeniably made no fundamental changes to Duterte’s fascist policies.

“The same violations unsurprisingly continue under Ferdinand Marcos Jr,” according to the group. It said, the two are just same fascists.