• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, who expressed support to the granting of amnesty to members of various groups engaged in armed conflict against the state, said he is hoping that there would be many takers in the province.
“I would really see that the Philippine government grants amnesty to rebels, rather than see them with arms,” Lacson said.
The Apolinario Gatmaitan Command of the New People’s Army, however, dismissed the amnesty program as “bogus and obtuse.”
Its spokesperson Ka Maoche Legislador pointed out that the government is contradicting itself by issuing Proclamation 404 which stated that amnesty granted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and New People’s Army (NPA) “shall not cover terrorism” among others, while the CPP-NPA has been wrongly tagged by the Anti-Terror Council as “terrorists.”
“That logic alone proves how insincere the Marcos Jr. regime is in addressing the roots of the armed conflict,” Legislador added.
The amnesty granted to members of armed groups is for those who have committed crimes punishable under the Revised Penal Code and special penal laws, specifically those committed crimes in pursuit of their political beliefs, whether punishable under the Revised Penal Code or special penal laws, which include the CPP-NPA-NDF; Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa-Pilipinas/Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade; Moro Islamic Liberation Front; and Moro National Liberation Front.
Maj. Gen. Marion Sison, 3rd Infantry Division commander, earlier said it will serve as a major deciding factor in convincing more members of the NPA to abandon the armed struggle.
The three remaining guerilla fronts of the NPA in Negros have been categorized as “weakened”, with many of its members either killed or surrendered to the Philippine Army. | GB
