President Rodrigo Duterte —INQUIRER PHOTO
President Rodrigo Duterte granted pardon to four communist rebels convicted of murder and kidnapping, the government’s chief peace negotiator said on Friday.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said Martin Villanueva, Bonifacio Suyon, Dindo Absalon and Rico Bodina would be released any time on Friday or Monday.
He said the release of the four pardoned detainees was part of the continuing commitment of Duterte to free communist prisoners.
“These rebels have long been recommended for pardon but the previous government did not sign the draft order to release them,” Bello said in a statement.
The peace official said the rebels, who are all farmers, had served at least 18 and up to 26 years in prison.
“We are giving them the justice they deserve regardless of their guilt or innocence,” Bello said. “They deserve to be freed.”
Villanueva and Suyom, he said, had been convicted of kidnapping while Absalon and Bodino served time for murder.
He said former President Benigno Aquino III did not act on the recommendation of the Presidential Committee on Bail Recognizance and Parole (PCBREP) over the release of the said rebels.
Bello said three more suspected communist rebels were set to be released pending legal requirements from the courts.
“They cannot avail themselves of a presidential pardon or executive clemency while their appeals are pending and awaiting final entry of judgment,” he said.
He also said 200 detained rebels had been submitted for review and approval by appropriate government agencies.
“But we have recommended the immediate release of 21 sickly detainees, three other elderly suspected rebels and one woman detainee,” said Bello, a former human rights lawyer.
According to Bello, there are 434 National Democratic Front (NDF) members in various detention centers in the country at present.