Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. expressed gratitude to the House of Representatives for approving four House Concurrent Resolutions (HCR) that grant amnesty to former rebels.
The lower house of the Congress adopted HCRs 19, 20, 21, and 22 earlier this week, which concurred with Proclamations Nos. 403, 404 405 and 406 issued by Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last month.
The Presidential proclamations granted amnesty to members of the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa ng Pilipinas/Revolutionary Proletarian Army/Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPMP-RPA-ABB), Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF), Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) respectively.
"We thank our highly-esteemed members of Congress for supporting the Marcos administration’s Peace, Reconciliation and Unity Agenda. This will enable the national government to push forward, build on, and sustain the gains of peace throughout our nation," Galvez said in a statement on Saturday, Dec. 16.
According to the peace adviser, the national government’s amnesty program is among the main confidence-building measures under the National Task Force for Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict’s (NTF-ELCAC) Local Peace Engagement (LPE) framework and the Normalization Program under the Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro (CAB).
“The granting of amnesty is an integral part of the comprehensive peace process. It is a path towards normalization that would allow these former rebels not only to fully reintegrate themselves into mainstream society as peaceful, productive and law-abiding citizens, but more importantly, enable them to rebuild their lives and ensure a better future for themselves and their families,” he stressed.
However, he underscored that the amnesty proclamations do not give “blanket amnesty" to the former rebels as the mere membership of an individual to an organization "is not sufficient to qualify him or her for amnesty."
He explained that the application for amnesty must specifically state the acts that were committed and are covered by the said amnesty proclamations.
He reiterated that those who are eligible to apply for amnesty under the existing proclamations are individual members of the RPMP/RPA/ABB, CPP-NPA-NDF, MILF, and MNLF who have committed crimes defined under the Revised Penal Code or special laws of the Philippines which are in furtherance of their political beliefs.
The amnesty proclamations cite the specific crimes that are subject of amnesty and, as such, acts other than those enumerated in the said proclamations are not covered by the amnesty program, he added.
“The granting of amnesty does not remove the grantee’s civil liability for injuries or damages caused to private persons,” he said.
“Thus, it is important for the former rebels themselves to show remorse and admit to the crimes that they have committed, and in doing so, show that they have completely turned away from a life of violence and armed struggle,” he stated.
The NTF-ELCAC likewise praised the House for concurring with the Presidential amnesty proclamations, saying such was a "significant move towards national reconciliation and societal healing."