Gov’t dangles amnesty anew as ‘holiday gift’ for rebels

Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. —Photo by Voltaire F. Domingo/Senate PRIB

ILIGAN CITY, LANAO DEL NORTE, Philippines — The government has urged active and former communist rebels to take advantage of its amnesty offer so they can restart life anew as peaceful and productive citizens.

This developed as the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (Opapru) aims for greater peace gains in 2025.

“Amnesty is today the government’s best gift [to rebels] as it will restore [all] your political and civil rights … Through this mechanism, you can rebuild your life,” said presidential assistant Wilben Mayor, Opapru spokesperson.

READ: 1,665 ex-rebels apply for government amnesty

Mayor emphasized that if granted, amnesty can restore all suspended or lost civil and political rights resulting from a criminal conviction and eliminate all criminal liability for acts covered as some of the most significant impacts on former rebels.

Among the offenses covered under the program are rebellion or insurrection, conspiracy to commit rebellion, sedition, illegal possession of firearms, ammunition, or explosives, and relative crimes of rebellion, among others.

“To ensure the holistic transformation of former combatants, President Marcos underscored the importance of granting amnesty as a key component of these efforts,” Mayor said.

‘Best policy’

Earlier, Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. said the government’s amnesty program “is (its) best policy” for dealing with enemies of the state.

Based on the amnesty proclamations, the period for filing applications will close in the first quarter of 2026.

Buoyed by its “banner achievements” this year, Galvez had set more aggressive initiatives next year, especially in transforming the lives and communities of former rebels.

“This year has turned out to be another very successful one for our agency and the comprehensive Philippine peace process as a whole,” he said.

Among many others, Opapru had helped facilitate the surrender of 2,000 loose firearms from Basilan, Maguindanao, Tawi-Tawi, and Lanao del Norte provinces, reducing the threat of gun violence in these areas.

Galvez said that of Opapru’s P7 billion budget in 2025, P5.2 billion, or 74 percent, would support transformation programs and projects for former Moro and communist rebels.

“The Opapru aims to achieve more ambitious targets in 2025. We expect the coming year to be filled with challenges, but our agency is ready to face these trials head-on as we continue to deliver on our promises,” Galvez said.