House leaders file resos on Marcos amnesty proclamations

Speaker Martin Romualdez and several other House leaders have filed proposed House concurrent resolutions concurring with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s amnesty proclamations.

Marcos last week issued Proclamation Nos. 403, 404, 405, and 406 granting amnesty to former members of the RPMP/RPA/ABB, CPP-NPA-NDF, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and Moro National Liberation Front.

Section 19, Article Seven of the Constitution provides that the President has the power to grant amnesty with the concurrence of a majority of all members of Congress.

Aside from Romualdez, the other authors of the proposed House concurrent resolutions 19, 20, 21, and 22 are Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio "Dong" Gonzales, Majority Leader Jose "Mannix" Dalipe, Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan, Senior Deputy Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander A. Marcos, House Committee on Accounts chairperson Yedda Marie Romualdez, and Tingog party-list Rep. Jude Acidre.

Former rebels can apply for the amnesty offered by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. within two years after Congress concurred with the proclamations, National Amnesty Commission chairperson and lawyer Leah Tanodra Armamento said Monday.

“[Then] President [Rodrigo] Duterte’s [amnesty] proclamation only gave us one year [to process applications] from the time of the issuance of the proclamation. But under this [amnesty] proclamation by President Marcos, it gave us two years [to process applications] from the time Congress concurs with the proclamation,” Armamento said during Bagong Pilipinas briefing,

She was referring to Duterte’s amnesty proclamation in February 2021.

“That [two-year timeframe] is a huge help because it will give us enough room to accommodate all applicants because you know, these are people with standing warrants of arrest, and some of them are in hiding. We have to reach out to them. it will take time for us to look for them, locate where they are, and go to their places. What we are doing is giving them another shot at being productive members of the community,” Armamento added.

The amnesty proclamation, however, only covers crimes “in pursuit of political beliefs” such as but not limited to rebellion or insurrection; conspiracy and proposal to commit rebellion or insurrection; disloyalty of public officers or employees; inciting to rebellion or insurrection; sedition; conspiracy to commit sedition; and inciting to sedition; illegal assembly; illegal association; direct assault; indirect assault; resistance and disobedience to a person in authority or the agents of such person; tumults and other disturbances of public order; unlawful use of means of publication and unlawful utterances; alarms and scandals; illegal possession of firearms, ammunition or explosives, provided that these crimes or offense were committed in furtherance of, incident to, or connection with the crimes of rebellion or insurrection.

Also covered are those charged, detained, or convicted of common crimes but who can establish by substantial evidence that they have committed said crimes in pursuit of political beliefs.

Written amnesty applications under oath will have to be lodged first before the Local Amnesty Board for evaluation before it reaches the National Amnesty Commission, which will recommend the qualified recipients to the President.

Armamento said that their verification of the ex-rebels records would be done in coordination with the National Bureau of Investigation.

The  President, she said, will have the final say as to who will be granted amnesty.

“Ultimately, it is the President who will grant the amnesty. We will just be a recommendatory [body],” she pointed out.

“In the meantime, those with standing warrants of arrest will be issued a safe conduct pass,” she added. —NB, GMA Integrated News