• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
An initial batch of 46 members of the defunct Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade (Tabara Paduano Group), now known as Kapatiran, were enrolled yesterday in the amnesty program of the government, almost 25 years after a peace agreement was signed between them and then administration of former President Joseph Estrada in the year 2000.
The processing of their amnesty applications was facilitated by the 79th Infantry Battalion, which is under the supervision of the 303rd Infantry Brigade, in Barangay Bato, Sagay City, Negros Occidental.
The activity was attended by Undersecretary Cesar Yano, OPAPRU chief and chairman of the Government of the Philippines (GPH)-Kapatiran peace agreement, Lawyer Lea Armamento, chairperson of the National Amnesty Commission, and Veronica Tabara, national chairperson of Kapatiran and co-chair of the GPH-Kapatiran peace agreement.
1Lt. Dan Carlo Somoza, 79IB Civil Military Operations officer, yesterday said that the 46 amnesty applicants from San Carlos City, form part of the 200 Kapatiran members in northern Negros, residing in cities of Cadiz and Escalante and E.B. Magalona.
Tabara disclosed that they have more than 700 members across the country.
On March 5, an initial 12 members of Kapatiran in Negros Oriental applied for amnesty, which was processed at the 302nd Infantry Brigade headquarters in Tanjay City, Negros Oriental.
A total of 60 Kapatiran members have been identified in Negros Oriental, many of them residing at a housing site in Barangay San Miguel, Tanjay City.
President Marcos issued Executive Order No. 47 in November 2023, granting amnesty to former members of the CPP-NPA-NDF, RPA-ABB, and Muslim separatists, who have committed crimes punishable under the Revised Penal Code and Special Penal laws in furtherance of their political beliefs, among other offenses.
Last year, the National Amnesty Commission’s Local Amnesty Board (LAB) – Bacolod processed amnesty papers of 210 former New People’s Army rebels in Negros, with assistance from the 79th, 62nd, 94th and 15th Infantry Battalions, under the 302nd and 303rd Infantry Brigades.
Of those rebels, 54 were assisted by the 79IB in the filing of their amnesty applications in Bacolod City.
National Amnesty Commission and the Office of the Presidential Adviser for Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU) earlier assured former rebels in Negros Oriental of the speedy processing of their application for government amnesty.
Yano said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration is targeting to complete the amnesty program before his term ends.
Tabara also aired her optimism that the amnesty program can fully take off under the Marcos administration.
Armamento urged the former rebels to be open and raise their issues and concerns regarding the amnesty program to determine how the government can respond to their needs.* with PNA reports
