• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
A total of 92 former members of the defunct Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa ng Pilipinas-Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPM-P/RPA-ABB) were among those who applied for government amnesty.
The RPM-P/RPA-ABB is now called the Kapatiran or Kapatiran Para sa Progresong Panlipunan, after entering into a peace agreement with the government in year 2000.
The National Amnesty Commission (NAC) and the Office of the Presidential Adviser for Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU) have assured Kapatiran members in Negros Island Region of the speedy processing of their application for government amnesty.
There are six organized Kapatiran groups in Negros Occidental and one in Negros Oriental.
Veronica Tabara, widow of the slain rebel leader Arturo Tabara, is national chair of Kapatiran and co-chair of the peace agreement.
The deadline for the filing of amnesty applications for Kapatiran members is on March 4 while for New People’s Army (NPA) members, March 13.
As of Dec. 31 last year, the NAC has recorded a total of 7,171 applications, reflecting the growing interest and trust of former combatants in the government’s amnesty program.
Nationwide, the NAC received 5,755 applications from former NPA members, 928 from members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and 396 from former members of the Moro National Liberation Front.
The NAC urgently called on those who wish to avail themselves of the government’s amnesty program to come forward.
Those interested are encouraged to apply at the nearest Local Amnesty Board for an opportunity to begin a renewed life and a path toward reintegration into mainstream society, it added.
Under Proclamation No. 404, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. granted amnesty to the former members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front who have committed crimes punishable under the Revised Penal Code and Special Penal laws in furtherance of their political beliefs, among other offenses. | GB
