The issuance of a proclamation granting amnesty to rebel returnees could become President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s “strategic weapon” to finally put an end to the country’s almost six-decade-long problem on insurgency.
Former peace adviser Eduardo Ermita bared this on Wednesday, July 26, as he boldly predicted that the end of the communist rebellion that has plagued the country since 1968 can be attained “within three to six months” if the right steps are taken by the current administration.
“‘Yan ay napakagandang strategic weapon ng bagong pangulo natin. Ang problema that all other presidents faced, itong bagong presidente natin ngayon could put an end to it (This is a very good strategic weapon by our new president. The common problem that all other presidents faced, our new president could put an end to it),” Ermita told the Manila Bulletin.
By issuing an amnesty to the remaining members of the Communist Party of the Philippines, New People’s Army and National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF), Ermita said fighters who are hiding in the mountains may be enticed to come out in the open and return to the folds of the law.
“Imagine if these remaining [fighters] can take advantage of the future amnesty proclamation, then it will help solve the problem on peace and order. It will promote an atmosphere of inclusive and enduring peace,” he added.
He said this could also be extended to rebels who were imprisoned for their offenses.
"Dapat makita muna ang good gesture of the national government through the actions of the President na patunayan na sila ay bibigyan ng amnesty at hindi sila ikukulong, at ang nakakulong ay bibigyan ng amnesty na hindi na ise-serve ang kanilang sentence (A good gesture on the part of the national government must be shown through the actions of the President who must prove that they [rebels] will be given an amnesty and no longer be jailed, and those jailed will also be given an amnesty and no longer serve their sentence)," Ermita said.
Ermita shared that he was invited last month to be a speaker at the graduation of the Civil Military Officers (CMO) Class by the AFP’s Civil Relations Service where he learned that there remains about 2,000 personalities of the CPP-NPA-NDF as of September 2022.
Out of the number, there are around 480 rebels who have outstanding warrants of arrest for various crimes, he said.
“Majority of them are occupying key positions in the Party. So they will be the target beneficiaries of whatever amnesty proclamation President Bongbong Marcos may issue soon, and this would be submitted to the Congress for ratification,” Ermita noted.
Ermita stressed that it was also a “plus factor” that concerned government agencies are “united” to make Marcos’ vision for peace attainable such as the Department of National Defense (DND) under Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., National Security Agency (NSA) under Director General Eduardo Año, Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) under Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) under Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr.
“They are all in unison in agreeing that that approach is a very important strategic step being undertaken by President Bongbong Marcos. And with all these agencies working together, hindi magtatagal (this will not take long), it will take three to six months I guess,” he stated.
During his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July 24, Marcos said he will issue a proclamation granting an amnesty to rebel returnees as he asked the Congress to ratify and support it.
The issuance of an amnesty to groups fighting the government is no longer a new concept, and Ermita is very familiar with this strategy.
Ermita served as the AFP’s deputy chief of staff from 1986 to 1988, and vice chief of staff in 1988 during the time that the administration of then President Corazon Aquino fought back a series of coup attempts.
When he retired from military service in 1988, Ermita was appointed by then Defense Chief Fidel V. Ramos as an Undersecretary of National Defense (USND) during the last major coup attempt in 1989. He also handled the program for the reconciliation, reintegration and rehabilitation of rebel returnees in the DND from 1976 to 1984, and 1988 to 1992.
He then ran for Congress in 1992 and served for three terms as the representative of the first district of Batangas until 2001. In the Congress, Ermita sponsored the ratification of several proclamations for amnesty directed at the CPP-NPA-NDF, Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), and other rebel and Muslim secessionist groups by former Presidents Ramos, Joseph Estrada, and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
From 2001 to 2003, Ermita served as the head of the then Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process (OPAPP now OPAPRU) from 2001 to 2003 under the Arroyo administration. In 2003, he was appointed as the chairman of the Government Peace Negotiating Panel in talks with the MNLF.
He also became the Secretary of National Defense from 2003 to 2004. The last government position he held was as the Executive Secretary and Presidential Spokesperson under the Arroyo administration from 2004 to 2010.