Ground commanders among 21 MILF amnesty applicants

Cotabato City. INQUIRER FILES

ILIGAN CITY — The National Amnesty Commission (NAC), through its Local Amnesty Board (LAB) in Cotabato City, received 21 new applications for amnesty from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Among those who formally filed for amnesty were MILF’s top ground commanders, who are now Members of Parliament (MPs) of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

The new applications bring to 77 the total number of MILF members who wish to avail of the amnesty granted to former rebels by President Marcos Jr.

The grant of amnesty to MILF rebels is part of their agreement with the government under the Annex on Normalization of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro.

As of Sept. 4, the NAC has received 909 amnesty applications.

These applications include a significant number of former rebels of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) and their front organizations, as well as rebels from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Rebolusyonaryong Partidong Manggagawa ng Pilipinas/Revolutionary Proletarian Army/Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPMP-RPA-ABB).

The NAC said the amnesty applications “signal a notable shift towards unity and reconciliation.”

The NAC said the deadline for the submission of applications is set for March 2026.

Applications received after this date would not be considered by the Commission, said lawyer Jamar Kulayan, NAC Commissioner.

Among the publicly known amnesty applications was that of Abdullah Macapaar, known as Commander Bravo, who was inspired by Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. to do so.

Macapaar, now an MP of BARMM, is commander of the MILF’s northwestern Mindanao front covering parts of Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur provinces.

With his transition to civilian life now assured, Macapaar has appealed to the government and MILF peace implementing panels to hasten the decommissioning of 200 former fighters under him.

“Their firearms are already rusting in our armory,” Macapaar said.