FOR AMNESTY
HOUSE leaders have filed House Concurrent Resolutions No. 19, 20, 21, and 22, concurring with the amnesty proclamations of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. which was issued in favor of various rebel groups.
In a statement, Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said the House of Representatives will act with dispatch in an attempt to approve before their Christmas break the resolutions.
Marcos is granting amnesty to rebels who have committed crimes in furtherance of their political beliefs.
These were referred to the House Committee on Justice for deliberations.
“We will act with dispatch on these concurrent resolutions and we will strive to approve them before our Christmas break so that rebels who sincerely desire to return to the fold of law and lead normal lives, along with the members of their family, and our nation in general, could enjoy the blessings of peace as soon as possible,” Romualdez said in a statement.
The amnesty proclamations issued by President Marcos to the rebels “shall take effect upon concurrence by a majority of all the Members of the Congress.”
Apart from Romualdez, other authors of the concurrent House resolutions include Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio “Dong” D. Gonzales, Jr., Majority Leader Manuel Jose “Mannix” M. Dalipe, Minority Leader Marcelino C. Libanan, Senior Deputy Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander A. Marcos, and Tingog Party-list Reps. Yedda Marie K. Romualdez and Jude A. Acidre.
The Amnesty Commission is mandated to issue the implementing rules and regulations covering the amnesty program not later than fifteen (15) days upon the effectivity of the amnesty proclamation.
Amnesty Proclamations No. 403, 404, 405, and 406 cover members of the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa ng Pilipinas/Revolutionary Proletarian Army/Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPMP-RPA-ABB), Communist Party of the Philippines-New Peoples Army-National Democratic Front (CP-NPA-NDF), Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), respectively.
The resolutions express the support for the government “in nurturing a climate conducive for peace, and in implementing programs for reconciliation and reintegration of rebels into mainstream society.”
