Amnesty for rebels a 'game changer' in ending insurgency: Año

MANILA - Offering amnesty for communist rebels can be a game changer towards the goal of achieving lasting peace in the country, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said Wednesday.

According to Año, the government is in the "final phase of victory" to end the decades long communist insurgency in the country.

Under the amnesty program, cases filed against members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New Peoples Army (CPP-NPA) will be cancelled, as long as they have not yet been convicted.

"Right now we are already in the final phase of our strategy of victory to end the communist armed conflict," Año said. "Pero meron pa ring tinatawag na missing ingredient, and this is amnesty."

"Kasi there are a lot of rebels in the mountains. We have a lot of worries or agam-agam kasi papaano naman yung kaso nila. Now with the amnesty, they’ll be given a clean slate, they’ll be given a new start," he added.

"So when they return to the mainstream, wala silang kaso and they will be given a fresh start and contribute to the nation building. Sa tingin ko yun lang talaga ang kulang - yung amnesty aspect nung ating whole of nation approach."

(Right now we are already in the final phase of our strategy of victory to end the communist armed conflict but there is still a missing ingredient and this is amnesty - because there are a lot of rebels in the mountain, we have a lot of worries about their cases. Now with the amnesty, they’ll be given a clean slate, they’ll be given a new start so that when they return to the mainstream, the cases will be cancelled and they will be given a fresh start and contribute to the nation building. I believe that is the only thing that's missing, the amnesty aspect of our whole of nation approach.)

The amnesty will not apply to those who have already been convicted, Año clarified.

"Meron namang ginagawang programa ang gobyerno para d'yan, especially yung efficient delivery of justice. Sabi nga natin, we will treat this case differently. Ang mga convicted, of course hindi sila d'yan kasama sa amnesty, puwede silang papasok sa pardon o sa parole depende na yan sa presidente,” he explained.

(The government is doing something about it, especially the efficient delivery of justice. As we said, we will treat this case differently. Those who have already been convicted, of course they cannot be given amnesty, but they can be given pardon or parole, depending on the president.)

Año said the government is hoping to convince around 1,800 CPP-NPA members to avail of the amnesty.

He also said the government will be giving the rebels time for the amnesty proclamation, adding that the amnesty program is a "game changer" in ending the communist insurgency in the country.

Presidential Adviser for Peace, Reconciliation and Unity in the Philippines Sec. Carlito Galvez, for his part, welcomed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s mention of the amnesty program during his State of the Nation Address.

"Nung nag-uusap po kami ng National Amnesty Commission, 'yun po ang sinasabi na crown and glory ng reconciliation and unity... Without amnesty, yung political and civil rights of our former combatants will not be restored and with that nakikita natin maganda po yung proclamation on amnesty talagang lahat po ng ating partners are very happy,” he said.

(While we were in discussion with the National Amnesty Commission, we said the crown and glory of reconciliation and unity, without amnesty, the political and civil rights of our former combatants will not be restored, and that we see the proclamation on amnesty as a welcome development and our partners are very happy about it.)

Marcos earlier said he will issue a proclamation granting amnesty to rebel returnees.

The Philippine military said earlier this month that only one out of 89 known guerrilla fronts of the New People's Army (NPA) remains active in the country.

As of July, only some 1,800 communist rebels are still bearing arms, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar told reporters.

The Philippines has the world's longest communist insurgency, which has been going on for more than five decades since the late Jose Maria Sison founded the CPP in 1968.

• Marcos offers amnesty to rebel returnees, asks for Congress support

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- report from Johnson Manabat, ABS-CBN News