During his 2023 State of the Nation Address President Marcos declared the government would be offering amnesty to all rebels. The AFP has embraced this plan and National Security Advisor Año calls it a game changer.
 |
| https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/26/23/amnesty-for-rebels-a-game-changer-in-ending-insurgency |
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.
(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.
(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.
Under this plan even high ranking NPA officials will be able to avail of amnesty.
 |
| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1807853/ano-says-amnesty-offer-extends-to-high-ranking-npa-officials |
The government’s offer of amnesty could extend up to the high-ranking officials of the communist New People’s Army (NPA), according to National Security Adviser Eduardo Año.
“There are a lot of rebels in the mountains who worry or have misgivings because of their cases,” Año said during a chance interview after the post-State of the Nation Address forum held in Pasay City.
“With amnesty, they will be given a clean slate, so that when they return to the mainstream, they will be given a new start,” he added.Año, however, said that senior NPA officials who had been convicted of a crime could not avail of the amnesty.
“We will treat each case differently,” Año said of the convicted NPA officials, pointing out that they could instead avail of a pardon and parole.
The CPP-NPA has, of course, rejected this offer saying they are devoted to the "revolution."
 |
| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1807275/cpp-rejects-marcos-amnesty-offer |
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) “firmly” rejected on Tuesday the offer of amnesty made by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in his second State of the Nation Address.
The president’s offer is backed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
“The Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army will firmly reject Marcos’s treacherous offer of amnesty and surrender,” CPP spokesperson Marco Valbuena said in a statement.“The revolutionary cause for genuine national freedom and social justice is far greater than any Marcos offer of amnesty. Revolutionaries are motivated not by the selfish desire for some personal gain, rather by the selfless devotion to serve and struggle with the people.”
Valbuena said that Marcos was “seriously mistaken” to think that the NPA would “line up to gain a few individual concessions in exchange for giving up the much bigger people’s cause which they have committed themselves to.”
But the AFP says the downfall of the NPA is looming with the death of another ranking officer.
 |
| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1206640 |
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. on Friday said the death of a ranking New People’s Army (NPA) leader in an encounter with troops in Northern Mindanao will help hasten the defeat of the communist movement.
In a statement, the AFP chief cited 4th Infantry Division troops for their successful military operation in Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental that resulted in the death of Northern Central Mindanao Regional Committee (NCMRC) Secretary Dionisio Micabalo, also known as “Muling,” last July 26.
"As the AFP has attained strategic victory against local and communist terrorist groups with most of their armed members neutralized, those who remain are in survival mode," Brawner said.
The AFP chief earlier claimed strategic victory against communist and local terrorist groups.
"This presents an opportunity for us to dismantle and defeat all remaining armed components to end insurgency and prevent their resurgence," he added.
Micabalo's group was notorious for perpetrating numerous atrocities and criminal activities in areas such as Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental and parts of Agusan del Norte and Agusan del Sur.
The surrender of an NPA leader in Northern Samar is also being hailed as a big blow to the insurgency.
 |
| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1206461 |
The recent surrender of a medical officer and political instructor of the New People's Army (NPA) in Northern Samar province is a huge setback to the rebels' effort to recover previously-influenced communities, the Philippine Army said on Wednesday.
Lt. Col. Joemar Buban, commander of the Philippine Army's 20th Infantry Battalion said alias Leah, 45, former medical officer and political instructor of platoon 1, front committee (FC) 15, a sub-regional committee of the NPA, formally surrendered at their headquarters in Las Navas, Northern Samar on July 22.
She turned over two M16 rifles, a long magazine, three short magazines, 75 rounds of 5.56 ball ammunition, and two improvised explosives.
"The continuing surrender and neutralization of the members of the NPA's FC 15 highly contributes to the inevitable collapse of the communist terrorist groups in Northern Samar, particularly in the towns of Las Navas, Catubig and Laoang," Buban said in a statement.
The surrender of the NPA officer, he said, would encourage other rebels to abandon the armed struggle, which would lead to the dismantling of FC 15 and the declaration of Northern Samar as insurgency-free.
The military identified her as the one responsible for intimidation, grave threats, and extortion activities to the populace and small businesses in the communities in Northern Samar. She also served as spokesperson of the Northern Samar Small Farmers Association.
2nd Lt. Joyce Ann Bayron, spokesperson of the Army's 20th Infantry Battalion, said in a phone interview that Leah is currently under their custody undergoing assessment and debriefing to officially avail of the enhanced comprehensive local integration program of the government.
“Her surrender is a result of a series of localized peace engagements in the communities within our area of operations and the frequent calls of the local government units of Las Navas to all the families and victims of the Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA’s deceptive ideology and false promises,” Bayron added.
Of course every time a high ranking NPA official surrenders or dies the AFP touts it as a big blow. But the NPA keeps on trucking. The AFP is continually making mountains out of mole hills.
 |
| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1808545/manila-court-acquits-baby-rivers-mom-2-others-in-firearms-and-explosives-case-due-to-insufficiency-of-evidence |
A Manila court has acquitted activist Reina Mae Nasino and two others of illegal possession of firearms and explosives case due to insufficiency of evidence.
Nasino, together with Alma Moran and Ram Carlo Bautista were arrested in Tondo, Manila, in November 2019. Police seized firearms, ammunition and grenade.
The policemen claimed the arrested suspects were supporters of the New People’s Army, an accusation that they have denied.Nasino was pregnant when she was arrested. She gave birth while in detention. She appealed to the court that she be allowed to stay with her newborn baby she named River, but her request was denied. Baby River got weak and eventually died after separation from her mother.
In acquitting the three, Manila RTC Branch 47 Presiding Judge John Benedict Medina cited the conflicting testimonies of the witnesses–two policemen and the Barangay chairwoman of the area where the alleged firearms, ammunition, and grenades were seized.
The court also said the prosecution failed to present the seized items in court.
The prosecution presented three witnesses. Two policemen testified–one part of the team that implemented the search warrant and the other, the designated photographer. However, the one who led the team that seized the firearms and marked them for evidence was not presented in court.
One of the police witnesses said he did not even know what markings were placed on the seized firearms, while the designated photographer admitted that he was only called to take pictures of the seized items after the search warrant was implemented. He did not witness the actual search.
Both policemen said the firearms, ammunition, and grenade were seized on the third floor of the house in Tondo, Manila.
But the Barangay Chairwoman said the search was conducted on the second floor of the house where there were two rooms. In both rooms, there were already police officers while the three accused were tied with cable wire in one room.
The chairwoman said she knows the owner of the house, but she does not know Nasino, Moran, and Bautista.
The chairwoman also testified about the discovery of the grenade. She said she only saw the firearms on the floor at the second room of the house.“The testimonies of the prosecution witnesses muddled the prosecution evidence with their inconsistencies…These inconsistencies on the material details of their discovery are so striking that this Court ought not to have ignored or brushed aside,” the court said.
Aside from the inconsistencies in the testimonies of the witnesses, the court said only photos of the seized items were presented. The court added that even the witnesses failed to identify in open court the seized firearms that were marked for evidence.
“The Court finds that the unmistakable conflicting testimonies of the prosecution witnesses generate serious doubt as to whether the firearms, ammunition and explosives were really found in the rooms of the accused as they were not identified with sufficient particularity,” the court said.
“The constitutional presumption of innocence of the accused has not been demolished for the failure of the prosecution in proving the guilt of the illegal possession of firearms, ammunition, and explosives beyond a reasonable doubt,” it added.
Conflicting testimonies and no actual evidence. And as a result this lady was imprisoned for 3 years and was separated from her baby who later died as a result of that separation. If this lady was guilty then why wasn't the prosecution able to form an airtight case? Why were they unable to present the actual weapons they were accused of possessing? This is not the first time a case has been dismissed against activists accused of being NPA members or supporters. Perhaps it is true that the PNP is targeting activists for harassment.
No comments:
Post a Comment