GMA bill seeks amnesty for Reds

PAMPANGA Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has filed a bill seeking amnesty for jailed Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) guerrillas and those involved in previous political conflicts, days after President Duterte announced a unilateral ceasefire as a prelude to peace talks.

House Bill No. 490 was practically a copy of Proclamation No. 1377 that Arroyo signed in 2007 when she was President.

“Accepting rebels back into the folds of the law through amnesty and eventually providing them access to the government’s existing socio-economic services, are essential to attaining peace and reconciliation in the country,” Arroyo said in the bill.

“There is an urgent need and expressed desire to extend amnesty to members of the CPP-New People’s Army (NPA)-National Democratic Front (NDF) and other individuals and groups involved in past political conflicts as an instrument of reconciliation and as a path to their return to a peaceful, democratic, and pluralistic society,” she said.

In her bill’s explanatory note, Arroyo stressed an “amnesty program” is an integral component in Duterte’s efforts to strike peace with the communists, which have been waging a bloody revolution for the past four decades.

The amnesty would cover those accused of rebellion and other crimes that were committed in pursuit of political beliefs, or “where the individual or group was accused because of political conflict.”

Those who are detained, charged, and convicted may file an application for amnesty, provided the crimes for which amnesty may be granted must have been committed on or before the date of effectivity of the bill.

The Arroyo bill also provides the amnesty will not be arbitrarily granted upon application.