Manila, May 6 -- The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) will continue to exist due to its effectiveness in combating insurgents and bringing development to formerly "geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas" (GIDAs), the country's top security adviser said.

"Let me also make it very clear: the NTF-ELCAC will not be abolished. The Task Force remains indispensable-not only as a counter-insurgency mechanism but also as a model of effective government convergence," National Security Adviser (NSA) Eduardo Ano said in a statement Monday night.

He also noted that the body has been the strategic engine behind community empowerment, peacebuilding, and good governance.

Ano, who is also an NTF-ELCAC vice ...