15 ex-NPA combatants in Agusan Norte seek amnesty

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 4, 2024): 15 ex-NPA combatants in Agusan Norte seek amnesty (By Alexander Lopez)

AMNESTY APPLICATION. The Agusan del Norte provincial government turns over to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity on Monday (June 3, 2024) the files and case folders of 15 former New People’s Army rebels who applied for amnesty. Presidential Peace Adviser Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. described the move as a significant step in continuing efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace in Mindanao. (Photo courtesy of OPAPRU)

BUTUAN CITY – Fifteen New People’s Army (NPA) rebels from Agusan del Norte formally filed for amnesty through the government's program.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) said it received files and case folders of the 15 former rebels on Monday.

OPAPRU's Local Conflict Transformation-Field Implementation Support Unit in Mindanao will handle the batch's documents.

“We laud the efforts of our peace partners in Agusan del Norte for making this endeavor possible,” OPAPRU LCT-FISU Mindanao director, Elisa Lapiña, said in a statement. “The files and case folders of the 15 former rebels were filed on Monday with the National Amnesty Commission’s Local Amnesty Board in Davao City.”

Lapiña said the rebels' move was a significant step in the continuing efforts "to achieve a just and lasting peace in Mindanao within the context of our Local Peace Engagement initiatives" with the members of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)-NPA-National Democratic Front (NDF).

The ex-NPA combatants will avail of the Marcos administration’s Amnesty Program under Proclamation No. 404.

Most of the 15 ex-rebels who applied for amnesty are members of Indigenous People communities in Agusan del Norte, she noted.

In April this year, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. directed the immediate implementation of an amnesty program for the members of CPP-NPA-NDF.

Presidential Peace Adviser Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. lauded the former rebels for heeding the Marcos administration’s clarion call for peace.

“As the President has emphasized, peace is not just the absence of conflict but creating a social order that values human dignity, improves lives, and promotes progress," Galvez said in another statement.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1226239