00:00 Amnesty is working with former rebels to bring peace. That is the ongoing study of the situation.
00:09 We will have the details with Atty. Maria Victoria Cardona, Executive Director of the National Amnesty Commission.
00:16 Ma'am good day to you. Atty.
00:18 Good day to all of you and thank you very much.
00:23 To our chairperson and member of the commission, thank you for inviting us here.
00:29 Atty. this is Aljoven D on the PTV.
00:32 Hello.
00:34 For everyone, what is the mandate of the National Amnesty Commission?
00:39 Okay. Let's go back to the amnesty first so we can understand what is the mandate of the commission.
00:48 Amnesty is the partial forgiveness or elimination of the crimes of the rebels or former combatants
00:58 who fought for the government or attempted to leave the government.
01:08 It is as if the grant of amnesty was returned to the status before the commission of the political offense.
01:20 So he has no crime and the punishment he was given has been forgiven.
01:26 So what is the mandate of the commission?
01:28 This is the agency that was established to fulfill the amnesty program of the government.
01:37 So at the same time of the issue of the proclamation of the former President Duterte to grant amnesty to former combatants,
01:46 National Amnesty was established to receive and process applications for amnesty.
01:55 So the purpose of the commission is to ensure and to make sure that all applications and all applicants are qualified
02:06 and have the requirements to qualify for the grant of amnesty.
02:12 That is the main mandate, to receive and process applications and to ensure that all applicants
02:19 who will grant amnesty to our President are qualified under the law.
02:26 How is the process of filing amnesty? What is the qualification to grant amnesty to a former rebel?
02:34 In the process, National Amnesty Commission has the power to establish local amnesty board.
02:44 At present, we have local amnesty board all over the country.
02:50 We have it here in Metro Manila, we have two in Visayas, in Iloilo, and in Colored City.
02:56 We also have six in Mindanao.
02:59 So the local amnesty board is the front line office.
03:03 They will receive the applications, they will conduct the initial verification.
03:10 Once the application is received, the applications will be verified.
03:15 It will be verified as to identity, affiliation, crime committed, and if there are any oppositors.
03:21 So who will forward these applications for verification?
03:24 The secretary of the local amnesty board will forward all applications for verification to the Department of Justice.
03:33 If there is a case in the police, Philippine National Police, armed forces, NBI, and the court.
03:43 They will verify if the criminals are the ones who committed the crimes, and if there is a private offended party.
03:54 If there is a private offended party, they will also be given a notice in the application that is filed in the local amnesty board.
04:02 The local amnesty board is a five-member commission that will include the local chief executive, regional, provincial, or city director of DILG,
04:15 DILG DOJ, PNP, and the brigade commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, IDP, and local religious leader.
04:26 So this is the local amnesty board. They will be the ones to conduct the conference and will be the ones to forward the applications.
04:35 So it is best if all the applications are qualified, all the applicants are qualified, none possess any disqualification,
04:47 and if crimes committed fall under those enumerated and none of the excluded crimes.
04:54 After their conference, the local amnesty board will form and recommend whether to grant or deny the application.
05:04 After the local amnesty board, it will be forwarded to the national amnesty commission.
05:11 Now, this is a new process and they will review it.
05:14 Finally, they will recommend to the office of the president whether to grant or deny the application.
05:21 This is a two-step process.
05:24 The office of the president, because it is the president who has the power to grant amnesty with the concurrence of Congress.
05:32 So that is the process.
05:34 How many amnesty applications are being processed by your office, attorney?
05:40 Yes. For now, we haven't processed any applications because the application period under the proclamations has passed.
05:53 The proclamation was issued by our president on February 2021.
06:02 So it took effect with the concurrence of both houses of Congress. The proclamations took effect on January 2022.
06:12 I appointed our chairperson on January 2023.
06:18 So there are only a few days, almost a week after the appointment of the chairperson,
06:26 the coverage or application period lapsed.
06:31 That is why we are now waiting for a new issuance to extend the application period.
06:37 So we are hopeful with the pronouncement of our president during the SONAC
06:42 that he will issue a proclamation to grant amnesty to former rebels.
06:47 So we are hopeful that soon he will issue a proclamation so the commission can already fulfill its main mandate,
06:55 that is to receive and process applications.
06:59 But in the meantime, while we are not processing applications,
07:03 we are continuing to strengthen our commission.
07:07 The local amnesty board has been established.
07:10 We are implementing rules and regulations and rules of procedure for final adoption
07:16 as soon as the proclamations are issued by the president.
07:21 We have a question from Rod Lagusan of PTV. According to your data, how many former rebels were granted amnesty in the past?
07:33 And now, under the current Marcos Jr. administration.
07:38 The statistics, our history of amnesty is very extensive.
07:46 Since 1902, we have amnesty after the World War II, the guerrilla amnesty.
07:55 During the time of President Rojas, Guerrino, President Marcos, Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
08:02 During Cory Stein, President Ramos, President Arroyo, all presidents have amnesty proclamations.
08:13 We don't have exact numbers.
08:16 But before, the local amnesty board was decentralized.
08:21 So there are no exact numbers given to us.
08:25 But during the time of President Cory and Ramos, there were 4,000+ and 19,000+ processed applications.
08:36 So our numbers are there now.
08:39 Roughly, conservative estimates, it's around 40,000.
08:45 Currently, we don't have the current numbers because we have not started processing applications.
08:54 We are still waiting for the proclamation issued by our president.
09:02 But the amnesty program is just one part or one major component of the entire peace process.
09:11 The OPAPRU is now under the commission of rebel groups like MILF, MNLF, RPA, NPA, CPP, and PF.
09:25 So the numbers are big.
09:28 In one group, there are 40,000 under the commission.
09:31 In another group, there are 20,000.
09:34 So the OPAPRU decommissioned groups, we are expecting them to apply.
09:39 So these would be the numbers of the applicants and probably more that we're expecting to apply for amnesty.
09:46 Yes.
09:47 President Marcos Jr. also said in his last sonoma that he will issue a proclamation to grant amnesty to former rebels.
09:56 Okay. Any update about this?
09:59 Yes.
10:00 So now, we don't have confirmation when the new proclamation granting amnesty to former rebels will be issued.
10:11 But our office, the commission is working with other members of ex-officio members of the commission,
10:19 in particular Department of Justice, and OPAPRU and the Office of the President,
10:24 to issue a new amnesty granting amnesty to former rebels.
10:31 Not only MI, MNLF, and RPA, but we're hopeful that this would include also CPP, NPA, and PF.
10:43 Because unfortunately, the proclamation granting amnesty to CPP, NPA, and PF was not concurred by the Senate.
10:52 Although it was concurred by the lower house, it was not concurred by the Senate.
10:56 So it was not effective.
10:58 So for now, the grant of amnesty is only towards the four, the MNLF, and RPP, RPA group.
11:10 Ma'am what is the purpose and importance of the President's decision to grant amnesty?
11:19 Okay. Like what we heard earlier, amnesty is just one of the core components of the peace process.
11:28 This is one of the reasons that it will give a second chance, another opportunity for those former combatants or rebels
11:36 who, because of probably injustice, poverty, or for whatever reason, fought or rose up or took up arms against the government.
11:46 So this is giving them an opportunity to have a new life, to engage legally with their government,
11:54 and to be more productive citizens of our country.
11:58 Because we believe that peace will not be meaningful or it's not even possible if there is no amnesty or if there is no end to the insurgency issue.
12:15 Like last week, there was a meeting of the Regional Peace and Order Council of Region 8 in the law.
12:23 So I'm from Region 8, from Borongan District, Samarco, Apo.
12:28 Our province, due to many reasons, is one of the most difficult provinces, despite the good people,
12:38 the good citizenry of our province, but it continues to suffer from poverty.
12:45 So it's not accidental that according to the reports just last week by the armed forces,
12:52 what Region 8 said, of which our province belongs, that this is one of the most vast counterinsurgency, communist insurgency issues.
13:04 So I hope that insurgency addresses the meaningful peace of which we want for our country.
13:11 As President Teo mentioned earlier, the unity and prosperity of the Philippines is more possible if there is no more armed conflict.
13:21 And this is what we want, if there is meaningful amnesty, it will be less and we will be able to address the insurgency issue
13:30 by giving those who have took up arms to return to the fold of the law and to engage in legal and regular government.
13:39 That is the importance of the amnesty program.
13:42 What is included in the reintegration program of our government?
13:48 The reintegration program, actually, this is a program that is being exercised or mandated under the OPAC,
14:01 the Office of the Presidential Affairs on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity.
14:12 We at the Commission, our mandate is very specific, that is to receive and process application.
14:21 But in the reconciliation and reintegration program, the amnesty program is part of it.
14:28 The amnesty, the commissioning, the surrender of arms, these are part of the reintegration program of our government,
14:38 which is being run or being run under the mandate of OPAC.
14:44 Okay. Thank you very much Atty. Maria Victoria Cardon, executive director of the National Amnesty Commission.
14:52 Be careful ma'am. Thank you.
14:53 Thank you very much.
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