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Friday, March 29, 2024

NTF-ELCAC pushes amnesty offer to communist rebels

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The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) has recommended that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. offer an amnesty to communist rebels to address the decades-old insurgency.

NTF-ELCAC arrived at the decision on Friday after its first executive committee meeting under the Marcos administration, a report from GMA News said.

“The task force strongly recommends the need for offering an amnesty to prevent the resurgence of the communist terrorist groups, especially in geographically, challenged, isolated, and disadvantaged areas,” the group said in a statement.

According to National Security Adviser (NSA) Clarita Carlos, the declaration of amnesty and the possible revival of peace talks would be the President’s decision.

“That is the decision that the president of the republic will make,” she said at a press conference when asked if they would also be seeking a revival of peace talks with communist rebels.

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“And if you will notice in the statement, our statement really is recommending to the President because it is the President who will make the ultimate decision in regard to the amnesty declaration,” Carlos added.

The task force, which was created during the Duterte administration, vowed to continue its efforts to ensure peace and development for Filipinos.
It also suggested reaffirming the importance of the whole-of nation approach in tackling the root causes of the armed conflict.

In a briefing Friday, Assistant Solicitor General Angelita Miranda said the indiscriminate prosecution of political dissenters will never be among the activities supported by the NTF-ELCAC, which has been widely condemned by human rights groups for red-tagging critics of the government.

But Miranda said the law would not be used to go after critics, so long as there are no violations.

“In criminal law, there should be an overt act. As long as you don’t have an overt act, even how evil your mind is, if there is no overt act, you cannot be prosecuted,” Miranda said.

Even under the Anti-Terror Act of 2020, anybody is safe so long as the evil mind is not converted into action, added Miranda, who heads the task force’s legal cluster.

National Security Adviser Clarita Carlos, who was also at the meeting, said in previous interviews that she is in favor of the continuation of the NTF-ELCAC.

She expressed her desire to continue negotiations with the insurgents while focusing on education, livelihood, and bringing more opportunities to residents of conflict-affected areas.

The Department of National Defense (DND) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) also expressed their full support for the NTF-ELCAC’s mandate.

DND officer-in-charge Senior Undersecretary Jose Faustino Jr. said during a press conference that the task force has “reaped gains” in reducing the threat of communist insurgency.

His views were shared by AFP chief Gen. Andres Centino, who said that the military will work hard to ensure that peace will be won.

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