BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The granting of amnesty to all rebel groups is a welcome development for Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Carlito Galvez.
Galvez said the granting of amnesty sends a clear and strong message that the government understands the decades-long armed conflict.
President Rodrigo Duterte has issued an executive order creating the National Amnesty Commission that aims to encourage more members of rebel groups to give up the armed struggle and return to the folds of the law.
Galvez said that the NAC will cover applications for amnesty of members of rebel groups, including the New People’s Army, Rebolusyonaryong Partidong Manggagawa ng Pilipinas/Revolutionary Proletarian Army/Alex Boncayao Brigade-Tabara Paduano Group, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Moro National Liberation Front, and the Cordillera People’s Army.
He welcomed the creation of NAC that will oversee the processing and granting of amnesty to former rebels and advance the attainment of just and lasting peace in the country.
Galvez said the NAC establishment is dovetailed to the government’s whole-of-nation, whole-of-society approach that seeks to finally put an end to the armed rebellion throughout the country.
“With this delivery of important commitment from the government, I am requesting the various peace tables to already prepare the parameters and come up with recommendations on the implementation of the amnesty proclamation,” he said. “With the establishment of the NAC, former rebels will be able to make the complete transition to peaceful, law-abiding, and productive citizens,” Galvez added.*
