Featured image above shows MILF combatants before the signing of the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB). SDN file photo courtesy of Photo-Journalist Mark Navales)
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By EDD K. USMAN | Twitter: @edd1819 | Instagram: @bluestar0910 | Facebook: SDN — Scitech and Digital News
(SDN) — July 24, 2023, marked the second State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., during which he said he will issue a proclamation granting amnesty to rebel returnees.
Perhaps, the President’s statement on granting amnesty is music to the ears of former rebels who although no longer fighting the government can’t be too sure about their security as some of them may have cases stemming not from rebellion.
Recall that a few days before the second SONA some Members of Parliament (MPs) of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) appealed to the President take a bold step in proclaiming “blanket amnesty” for former rebel combatants.
Led by Deputy Floor Leader Atty. Mary Ann M. Arnado, legislators of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) made the appeal in a press conference on July 18 organized by the Mindanao People’s Caucus (MPC), of which she is the secretary general.
Chances are the amnesty will cover former combatants of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), New People’s Army (NPA), and others who once fought the government.
In his 70 minutes speech during a joint session of Congress at the House of Reresentatives, Batasang Pambansa Complex, Quezon City, Metro Manila, he cited the many accomplishments of his two years old administration.
The Chief Executive also mentioned the progress in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) headed by Chief Minister Ahod Balawag “Al-Hajj Murad” Ebrahim, who was present at the event.
He noted how for many years some Filipinos raised arms against the government to ventilate their grievances.
“For almost half a century, some of our fellow Filipinos have taken to arms to make their views heard. We are now at a point in our history when their armed struggle has evolved. We have now progressed together towards peace and development,” Marcos emphasizes.
He then cited the government’s program to reintegrate rebel returnees to the mainstream of society.
One of the reintegration programs is a major facet of the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), signed by the government and the MILF, ending 17 years of protracted peace negotiations.
Through the CAB’s Annex on Normalization, the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the MILF have agreed on decommissioning thousands of combatants and their arms. The President alluded to this.
“We have incorporated capacity-building and social protection into our reintegration programs, to guarantee full decommissioning of former combatants. Through community development and livelihood programs, the Barangay Development and Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Programs (BDECLIP) have been effective in addressing the root cause of conflict in the countryside,” he says.
He asked Congress to help in the reintegration of former rebels.
“To complete this reintegration process, I will issue a Proclamation granting amnesty to rebel returnees. I ask Congress to support us in this endeavor,” Marcos assures.
BARMM solons do not want Datu Paglas incident to be repeated
MP Arnado of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), welcomed the presidential pronouncement.
“We highly welcome the President’s statement that he will be issuing a Proclamation granting amnesty to guarantee full decommissioning of former combatants. We look at this as a positive response to the earlier appeal of some Members of Parliament for the President to mention the direction of the amnesty in his SONA and to specifically ask support of Congress. Through this new Proclamation, we hope that the amnesty program will be fully implemented and completed in faithful compliance of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro,” shares Arnado.
Arnado and the other MPs made the appeal so former MILF rebels and others of their kind will not suffer the fates of MILF members who were killed in police-military raid last month on June 18 in Barangay Damawato, Datu Paglas municipality, Maguindanao del Sur.
MP Baileng Mantawil says “amnesty will serve as a powerful symbol of national unity.” She added that without amnesty the former MILF combatants would remain at risk.
Members of the Police Regional Office Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO BAR) were said to be serving search warrants to two of the victims but they were reportedly met by gunfire. Families of the seven slain “legitimate MILF members” denied the PRO BAR claim.
Arnado and her MP colleagues do not want this incident repeated as the government’s Sword of Damocles would continue hanging over the former combatants’ head.
This won’t happen if the national government grants a blanket amnesty on them, erasing any criminal cases they have. (✓)