MANILA, Philippines — The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) on Thursday denied claims that the proposed P8.08-billion allocation related to ending the communist insurgency constituted a discretionary "NTF-ELCAC fund." In a statement, NTF-ELCAC Executive Director Ernesto Torres Jr. said these claims were "inaccurate" and "misleading." He said the amount cited referred to the Barangay Development Program (BDP)—a multi-agency development intervention implemented by regular line agencies of government, and not the NTF-ELCAC itself. "The P8.08 billion is not an NTF-ELCAC fund in the way it is being portrayed. It is not a discretionary pool, not a patronage fund, and not an ‘ayuda’ dispensed in exchange for compliance or silence,” Torres said.