CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga (PIA) — The Central Luzon Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF-ELCAC) has ramped up information drive in vulnerable sectors as underground movements linked to communist-terrorist groups (CTGs) continue their recruitment efforts.
“We may have weakened the armed component, but we should not be complacent because the battle is not yet over. The underground movement remains active in infiltrating schools, industries, and marginalized communities,” National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) Regional Director Ulysses Untalan emphasized during the fifth episode of the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas of the Philippine Information Agency for 2025.
This prompted the RTF-ELCAC Situational Awareness and Knowledge Management (SAKM) cluster, led by NICA, to intensify its information drive among vulnerable sectors in order to protect students, labor unions, indigenous peoples, farmers, fisherfolk, and rural communities from exploitation and radicalization.
From July 2022 to February 2025, about 334 awareness campaigns were conducted that have reached more than 74,500 stakeholders including students, teachers, barangay officials, and labor representatives.
These initiatives focus on exposing CTG recruitment tactics, promoting vigilance, and empowering communities to resist infiltration.
As part of these efforts, the SAKM cluster continues to strengthen partnerships with local government units, private sector, and academic institutions, with recent collaborations with Bulacan Agricultural State College and Don Honorio Ventura State University resulting in institutionalized awareness campaigns within their campuses.
“Education is one of our strongest defenses. If we can equip students and workers with the right knowledge, we can effectively prevent recruitment before it even starts,” he pressed.
In addition to targeting youth, the SAKM cluster has also heightened its engagement with labor unions, especially in major industrial zones like Clark and Bataan.
Untalan noted that given Central Luzon’s economic significance, workers’ rights issues have been exploited by left leaning organizations to infiltrate unions and recruit members under the guise of labor advocacy.
“We need to ensure that students, teachers, and labor leaders are informed about the deceptive tactics of CTG recruitment. The more they know, the harder it becomes for these groups to infiltrate,” he added.
One of the most effective strategies in these campaigns has been the involvement of former rebels, who share their personal experiences of manipulation, hardship, and disillusionment within the CTGs.
“These testimonies serve as eye-openers, especially for students who are often the primary targets. When they hear from former rebels about the deceptions they went through, they realize the dangers,” he furthered.
Beyond educational efforts, the RTF-ELCAC continues to expand community outreach programs that address economic and social issues often exploited by the CTGs, such as poverty, livelihood, and access to education.
By bringing basic government services, livelihood programs, and scholarship opportunities directly to affected communities, the RTF-ELCAC aims to strengthen public trust in the government and eliminate the conditions that CTGs capitalize on for recruitment.
The National Task Force ELCAC is a task force of the Philippine government established in 2018.
Its primary objective is to address the root causes of communist insurgency in the country and achieve lasting peace through a whole-of-government approach, which involves the coordinated efforts of various government agencies, local government units, civil society organizations, and the private sector. (CLJD/MJSC, PIA Region 3-Pampanga)
