President Rodrigo Duterte has signed an executive order creating the National Amnesty Commission to boost the peace efforts, Malacañang says.
The seven-member commission will process the applications for amnesty and determine those who are eligible “in connection with the recent amnesty proclamations pending concurrence of Congress,” according to Palace spokesman Harry Roque.
“This is a step towards peace in which we will offer the hand of peace to some groups so they can return to normal and peaceful lives,” Roque said.
“We offered the hand of peace to some groups so they could return to a normal and peaceful life,” he said but did not identify the groups.
The NAC will have seven members, including a chairperson and two regular members that the President will appoint, Roque said.
The Justice Secretary, Defense Secretary, Interior and Local Government Secretary and the Presidential peace adviser will serve as ex-officio members of the commission. The Office of the Presidential Peace Adviser will be the secretariat of the commission.
Under the Constitution, amnesty is a power granted to the President that absolves any offense and punishment of a person or group with the concurrence of the majority of Congress.
Roque said that in granting amnesty, the past offense, usually a crime of rebellion committed by a group, will be extinguished, adding “the concurrence of Congress is needed because it does not only remove the event but also the penalty.”