“In the spirit of unity and the healing of the nation, our government, through the National Amnesty Commission, will start issuing Safe Conduct Passes to former rebels who are facing arrest warrant in relation with their political struggle.”
— President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.
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- EDD K. USMAN | X (Twitter): @edd1819 | Instagram: @bluestar0910 |Facebook: SDN – SciTech & Digital News
MANILA (SDN) — Even when there is already a functioning peace agreement between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Government of the Philippines (GPH), many of the latter’s former combatants have like the proverbial Sword of Damocles hanging over their heads.
Reason behind this, which seems natural, is that some have pending charges against them, which make safety uncertain. It’s like, they are walking around and, from nowhere. authorities would swoop in to arrest them.
Although over 300 members of the MILF’s Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) have already applied for amnesty with the National Amnesty Commission (NAC), under the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU), there’s no decision yet on their status.
So, the Sword of Damocles still hangs over their head in spite of their applications for amnesty.
That was then, this is today!
Fortunately, the fears of arrest have dissipated after President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. signed on April 11, 2025, a Memorandum Order (MO) 36 that authorizes the NAC to issue Safe Conduct Passes for MILF members who are facing cases in courts.
Actually, it is not only those from the MILF who are entitled to the passes, but also other amnesty applicants from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and former rebels from the various communists armed groups fighting the government.
The President signed the MO 36 on a Friday, April 11, 2025, at the Club House of the 6th Infantry Division of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in Awang Airport, Camp Siongco, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Historic day for former rebels because of MO 36
It was the President’s first visit to the Bangsamoro region after he appointed BIAF Chief of Staff Abdulraof A. Macacua as the interim chief minister (ICM) of the BARMM. Macacua replaced Al-Haj Murad Ebrahim, the MILF Central Committee chair, after six years as ICM.
“Sa diwa ng pagkakaisa at paghilom ng bayan, ang ating pamahalaan, sa pamamagitan ng National Amnesty Commission, ay magsisimula ng magbigay ng Safe Conduct Passes sa mga dating rebelde na may kinakaharap na arrest warrant para sa mga kasong may kaugnayan sa kanilang paninindigang pampulitika,” Marcos emphasizes.
(Translation: In the spirit of unity at the healing of the nation, our government, through the National Amnesty Commission, will start issuing Safe Conduct Passes to former rebels who are facing arrest warrant in relation with their political struggle.)
The President added the safe conduct passes provides not only protection for amnesty applicants against arrest, detention, charges. “Most of all, this is an invitation to all rebels to stop their armed struggle.”
In relation with the issuance of the MO 36, OPAPRU Secretary Carlito G. Galvez, Jr. hailed the presidential act.
“President Marcos has underscored, time and again, his commitment to support our brothers and sisters who have returned to the folds of the law and now wish to create a brighter future for themselves, and their families.
“As we have emphasized, amnesty is the best policy. It will not only restore the civil rights of our former rebels but enable them to live freely and seek employment without fear for their safety,” Galvez, a former AFP chief of staff, emphasizes.
The NAC is chaired by lawyer Leah Tanodra-Armamento, who has been involved in the Mindanao peace process for many years.
On the part of the BARMM government, Macacua welcomed Marcos’s authorization for issuance of safe conduct passes to former rebels who have pending applications for amnesty.
“Alhamdulillah (Praise God)! This is a historic day for our mujahideen brothers. Today, April 11, 2025, at the Club House of the 6th Infantry Division in Datu Odin Sinsuat Municipality, we are witness to President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ R. Marcos, Jr.’s signing of (MO 36) that authorizes the (NAC) to issue Safe Conduct Pass,” the former appointive governor of Maguindanao del Norte before being made the chief minister.
Macacua made his sentiments known on his social media page, expressing his views in Filipino.
What this means, he pointed out, is the NAC can already issue permit to the mujahideen who are facing cases in relation with the armed struggle by, which he apparently meant the MILF’s war for a separate independent Mindanao, later accepting after 17 years of peace talks an enhancedr autonomy than what the MNLF had with the defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
The safe conduct passes, the BARMM chief minister explained, will provide the former combatants the opportunity to travel, participate in public activities, attend important meetings, as well as transact with various government agencies without worries about being arrested or imprisoned while their applications for amnesty are being “finalized” by the NAC.
Tanodra-Armamento cited MO 36’s significance, as a way of rebuilding the former rebels’ lives.
Macacua thanks the President, MILF Central Committee for the peace process
“This will encourage the applicants who had been in hiding for years to have a first taste of fresh air of freedom and come out to avail (themselves) of the President’s kind-hearted act of giving them a new start in (life) of a free man,” she says.
The NAC chairperson expressed confidence applicants for amnesty from the ranks of the former rebels will double — which as of this month is at 2,424.
Studying the applications is the NAC’s nine Local Amnesty Boards (LABs) nationwide which accept and process the amnesty documents.
Macacua made sure in his statement to embrace the MNLF, the formerly monotheistic rebel group before the split of the MILF and several other factions.
“As the Chief of Staff of (BIAF) of the (MILF) and a brother of the mujahideen from the ranks of the (MNLF), I feel the lightheartedness of our comrades that for many years lived with apprehension because of their pending cases arising from their struggle for the Bangsamoro.
“Now, based on the recognition of the legitimate aspiration of the MILF, they don’t need to live in fear while the people continue to enjoy the dividends of peace as a result of their struggle,” says Macacua.
The Bangsamoro chief minister explained further his views, noting that what the MILF (and MNLF) went through was not a crime, but a legitimate struggle recognized through the signing of the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) and the BARMM’s establishment (in January 2019).
Marcos’s signing of MO 36, the BARMM chief minister points out, “is more than a permit…a recognition of a legitimate struggle and pathway to reconciliation and national unity,” adding it is significant step toward long-lasting peace in the region.”
It can be recalled the President issued Proclamation Nos. 403, 404, 405, and 406 on November 23, 2023, granting amnesty to members of the Rebolusyonayong Partidong Manggagawa ng Pilipinas/Revolutionary Proletarian Army/Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPMP-RPA-ABB), Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF), MILF, and MNLF.
Among them, who committed crimes in pursuit of their ideological and political beliefs are qualified to apply for the amnesty.
The Bangsamoro region, established in 2018 by the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) to implement the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), is made up of the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, and Tawi-Tawi, the cities of Cotabato, Lamitan, and Marawi, as well as the Special Geographic Area’s (SGA) 63 barangays or villages that voted “Yes” in a plebiscite in February 2019 to be under the BARMM jurisdiction.
According to the Philippine Atlas BARMM has 4,404,288 people. It has 116 municipalities: Basilan, 11 municipalities; Lanao del Sur, 39; undivided Maguindanao, 36; Sulu, 19; and Tawi-Tawi, 11. Its component cities are Cotabato (the regional center and capital) in Maguindanao; Lamitan in Basilan; and Marawi in Lanao del Sur. (✓)
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The author
EDD, a native of Sub-Saharan Africa Buluan/Datu Piang, Maguindanao del Sur, BARMM, college at UST, is a Manila-based journalist for over 40 years (33 years with Manila Bulletin), has five Media Awards (1 with University of the Philippines (UP) 2017 Science Journalism Award), covered and traveled over 40 times abroad), has contributed to Rappler, Business Mirror, former Manila-based Foreign Correspondent of Saudi Arabia newspapers Saudi Gazette and Riyadh Daily, and The Peninsula (Qatar newspaper), with 2008 East-West Center (EWC) Journalism Seminar in the United States, 2000 Executive IT Seminar in Seoul, South Korea, with three Silver Awards in Photography, writes Muslim and Current Affairs, Enterprise, Science, Tech, Products Launch, and virtually everything under Heaven. (@)