Speaker Lord Allan Velasco has reaffirmed the support of the House of Representatives for the Duterte administration’s amnesty program for Muslim and communist rebels who agreed to lay down their arms and return to the fold of the law.
“The amnesty program is a huge step toward achieving just and lasting peace in the country and giving former rebels a path back into civilian life,” Velasco said in a statement Velasco made the statement after the Committees on Justice and on National Defense and Security approved last Wednesday four resolutions concurring with the proclamations signed by President Rodrigo Duterte granting amnesty to members of four major rebel groups.
Velasco led the filing of House Concurrent Resolution Numbers 12 to 15.
Last month, Duterte issued Proclamation 1090 to 1093 granting amnesty to members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Moro National Liberation Front, Rebolusyunaryong Partido ng Manggagawa ng Pilipinas/Revolutionary Proletarian Army/Alex Boncayao Brigade, and Communist Terrorist Group who have committed crimes in “furtherance of their political beliefs.”
Velasco said the granting of amnesty proved the Duterte administration’s sincerity and determination to attain sustainable peace in the country.
He said amnesty was “necessary for the general interest of the Philippines and the Filipino people for a just and lasting peace.”
Velasco said the creation of the National Amnesty Commission and the grant of amnesty in favor of MILF would “enable the delivery of an important commitment of the government under the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, particularly the gradual normalization of the previously conflict-affected areas.”
“The amnesty will also provide a meaningful and complete transformation and assimilation of the MILF decommissioned combatants into peaceful and progressive lives towards national reconciliation and healing in the Bangsamoro,” he said.
Velasco said Congress shared the President’s view on the need to declare amnesty to MNLF members “to promote an atmosphere conducive to the attainment of a just, comprehensive and enduring equanimity.”
“Both Houses of Congress recognize that transforming MNLF members from armed combatants to productive citizens and peace partners is necessary to achieve the paramount ends of the peace process—national unity, solidarity and progress for all Filipinos,” he said.
In supporting the grant of amnesty to RPMP-RPA-ABB and CTG, Velasco said the legislature was one with the Duterte government in “nurturing a climate conducive for peace” and “addressing the root causes of armed conflict by harmonizing the delivery of basic services and social development packages in conflict-affected areas and vulnerable communities.”
In his proclamation, Duterte said there was 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.
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 proclamation stated.
However, the amnesty would not cover kidnappings for ransom, massacres, rape, terrorism, drug trafficking and certain crimes the United Nations says should never be covered by amnesties, such as genocide, crimes against humanity and torture.
Meanwhile, recent clashes between military forces and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters serve as preview of more violence in Maguindanao as the region gears for the 2022 elections while continuing the transition to the Bangsamoro under the helm of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, warned International Alert Philippines, a peace-building non-government organization.
The firefight that began on March 18 in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town was the latest episode involving the military and the BIFF, as monitored by Alert since January through its Critical Events Monitoring System that receives on-the-ground reports from local contacts.
The military claimed it attacked BIFF forces under the command of Kagi Karialan when the BIFF tried to violently thwart the establishment of a Joint Peace and Security Team in Brgy Kitango, Datu Saudi Ampatuan.
The BIFF-Karialan faction has escalated its armed attacks in recent months, targeting indigenous groups including the Teduray in other municipalities such as South Upi.
“This may be an effort to demonstrate the Karialan group’s superiority over other extremist groups in the area and hence gain more recruits and support, or it can be part of a ‘slow burn’ or a gradual yet deliberate escalation of violence that leads to a major political battle before or during the 2022 elections,” said Francisco Lara Jr., Senior Peace and Conflict Adviser of International Alert Philippines.
The first Bangsamoro parliamentary election is slated for 2022 along with the election for local posts. A proposal seeks to desynchronize the parliamentary and local elections. Another wants to delay the parliamentary election by extending the life of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, the interim administrator of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao that is led by
MILF members and their nominees, by three years.
The violence from extremist groups such as the BIFF and the shadow economies in drugs and weapons will combine and feed into the violence surrounding these political contests, Alert said in a statement.