Around 280 insurgency-cleared barangays will be included in the list of the beneficiaries of the Barangay Development Program (BDP), the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict’s (NTF-ELCAC) said Wednesday.

This, after the NTF-ELCAC recommended their inclusion in the BDP during the 7th Executive Committee (Execom) Meeting with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. at Malacañan Palace in Manila.

“It was recommended with the Executive Committee to the President for the inclusion of such barangays (villages) that were cleared by our security forces from the local terrorist group and there are 280 of those,” NTF-ELCAC executive director Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr. said in a panel discussion with Palace reporters.

“So, it was the decision of the Executive Committee this morning to include those 280 barangays (villages) that were previously influenced by those local terrorist groups that I’ve mentioned now cleared by them and then puwede na pong ipasok sa (can now be included in the) BDP Program,” he added.

Torres said the incoming BDP beneficiaries are villages from Zamboanga City, Sulu, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Sur, and Basilan.

He said the insurgency-free villages from Sulu, Lanao del Sur, and Zamboanga City will first become recipients of the Retooled Community Support Program (RCSP) in 2026 before they will benefit from the BDP by 2027.

He said the other cleared villages from Basilan and Maguindanao del Sur will become RCSP beneficiaries in 2027 and BDP recipients in 2028.

“So, for the regular BDP, we are happy to note from the President himself that he would sustain the implementation of the Barangay Development Program because this is our commitment to those barangays that were formerly influenced by the CPP-NPA-NDF (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front),” Torres said.

“So, as we speak now, we are serving 4,830 barangays from 2021 to 2025 but then we still have to serve more than 3,000 barangays up to 2028.”

The RCSP, which is being implemented in areas with vulnerable populations, aims to address identified issues of the community by implementing programs, projects, and activities that will put an end to governance and development gaps and will promote sustainable peace and development.

On the other hand, the BDP is a hallmark program of the NTF-ELCAC which aims to bring development to former conflict-prone communities.

Under the BDP, each village recipient will receive a package of programs, activities, and projects (PAPs) worth a maximum total of PHP20 million. (PNA)