Isa na rin ang Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) sa mga miyembro ng National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), ayon kay NTF-ELCAC Executive Director Usec. Ernesto Torres nitong Huwebes, Agosto 31.

Sa isang Palace briefing, inihayag ni Torres na magkakaroon sila ng dalawang pribadong kinatawan sa ahensya, isa mula sa sektor ng relihiyon at isa pa mula sa sektor ng negosyo.

Kaugnay nito, nilapitan daw ng NTF-ELCAC ang CBCP upang maging miyembro nito at makatulong sa paglalahad umano ng mga impormasyon sa malalayong lugar hinggil sa mga hakbangin ng gobyerno.

“We are really very glad that when we first approached the CBCP leadership, we were accepted warmly. Hindi po tayo nagkaroon ng problema with them, in fact, they readily accepted to cooperate with us because we were able to explain to them about the program of the government,” ani Torres.

Empleyadong lasing, patay matapos sapakin ng ginising na katrabaho

“So what can they (CBCP) contribute? We are a very religious country, so if I’m not mistaken, more than 80 percent of our population is Catholic or Christian, so the organization could be felt down to the barangays and even sitios. So they are organized as such, so with them on our side, it would be a lot easier for us to disseminate, to cascade the information, the good news of the government to those living in far flung areas,” saad pa niya.

Kakatawanin naman umano ng CBCP sa NTF-ELCAC si Bishop Reynaldo Evangelista, kasama si Fr. Jerome Secillano bilang kaniyang kahalili.

Bukod naman sa CBCP, 11 na iba pang mga ahensya ng pamahalaan ang sumali sa NTF-ELCAC bilang mga miyembro nito, kabilang na ang Department of Information and Communications Technology, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Transportation, Department of Tourism, Department of Energy, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Health, and Department of Migrant Workers.