(Eagle News) — President Bongbong Marcos has granted amnesty to rebel returnees and members of some insurgent groups in what the government said was a bid to encourage others to return to the folds of the law.
According to Proclamations No. 403 to 406, the following are covered by the amnesty:
- Members of the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa ng Pilipinas/Revolutionary Proletarian Army/Alex Boncayao Brigade
- former members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) or their “front organizations”
- members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)
- members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF)
The amnesty is only for crimes in pursuit of political beliefs, whether punishable under the Revised Penal Code or special penal laws.
It does not cover kidnap for ransom, massacre, rape, terrorism, crimes committed against chastity as defined in the Revised Penal Code, crimes committed for personal ends, violation of Republic Act (RA) No. 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, grave violations of the Geneva Convention of 1949, and genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture, enforced disappearances, and other gross violations of human rights.
In light of this, the President also issued Executive Order (EO) No. 47, amending Executive Order No. 125, series of 2021 which created the National Amnesty Commission (NAC).
“There is hereby created the National Amnesty Commission, hereinafter referred to as the Commission, which shall be primarily tasked with receiving and processing applications for amnesty and determining whether the applicants are entitled to amnesty under Proclamation Nos. 403, 404, 405 and 406,” the President’s EO read.
