BACOLOD CITY: Mayors in northern Negros Occidental are hoping the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) budget allocation of P20 million for insurgency-free barangay (villages) under the Barangay Development Program (BDP) would be reinstated.

At least four mayors, including Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr., Escalante City Mayor Melecio Yap, Manapla Mayor Manuel Escalante Jr. and Don Salvador Benedicto Mayor Marxlen de la Cruz, met with Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. at the sidelines of the recently concluded Negros Trade Fair at Glorietta 2 in Makati City to inform their wishes.