House Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez on Wednesday said the adoption of four concurrent resolutions granting amnesty to the members of four rebel groups is an initial step to full implementation of President Rodrigo Duterte’s program to reintegrate them into civilian life.
Romualdez, chairman of the House committee on rules, said the resolutions will enhance the Duterte administration’s reconciliation and peace-building efforts by welcoming rebels who will lay down their arms and return to the fold of the law.
Lawmakers adopted House Concurrent Resolutions 12 to 15 concurring with Presidential Proclamations 1090 to 1093 granting amnesty to Muslim and communist rebels who have committed crimes in furtherance of their political beliefs.
Covered by the proclamations are qualified members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa ng Pilipinas / Revolutionary Proletarian Army / Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPMP-RPA-ABB), and Communist Terrorist Group (CTG).
The concurrent resolutions were spearheaded in the House by Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, Romualdez, and Minority Leader Joseph Stephen Paduano.
“We are one with President Duterte in his noble desire to give Muslim and communist insurgents a second chance at life,” Velasco said.
He said the amnesty and providing them access to the government’s socio-economic services were essential to attaining peace and reconciliation in the country.
In his proclamations on Feb. 5, President Duterte said there is a need to reintegrate as soon as possible all rebels and insurgents into the mainstream society under the rule of law, including those who may have committed unlawful acts.
Section 19, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution allows the President to grant amnesty with the concurrence of a majority of all the members of the Congress.
Romualdez, however, pointed out that the amnesty does not cover common crimes such as kidnap for ransom, massacre, rape, terrorism, and other crimes committed against chastity; crimes committed for personal ends, and grave violations of the Geneva Convention of 1949.
The amnesty “shall extinguish any criminal liability for acts committed in pursuit of political beliefs” and restore political and civil rights, which were lost due to criminal conviction, the proclamations stated.
An Amnesty Commission will be created to receive and process applications for amnesty and determine whether applicants are entitled to reprieve under the proclamations.
