Lawmaker sees flaw in amnesty rules

MANILA, Philippines - The requirement for rebel soldiers to admit their guilt if they take advantage of amnesty under President Aquino’s Proclamation 75 is open to legal challenge, Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. asserted yesterday.

Barzaga said the House of Representatives should not insist on including the requirement in the amnesty rules, which the Department of National Defense, in coordination with the Department of Justice, has drafted.

“It could be questioned in court since it is not part of Proclamation 75. What is not part of the amnesty issuance should not be included in the implementing rules,” Barzaga said.

He added the requirement could also make it difficult for some active and discharged military personnel who still refuse to openly admit their guilt to avail themselves of amnesty.

At least one active military officer has announced that he would not apply for amnesty and would fight his case in court, claiming he and his colleagues did nothing wrong.

Former Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, who once led the Army’s Scout Rangers, has taken a similar position when he addressed the House committees on justice and national defense three weeks ago.

Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas, senior vice chairman of the justice committee, said the inclusion or non-inclusion of the requirement for acceptance of guilt in the amnesty rules is immaterial.

Fariñas said an applicant for amnesty impliedly admits his offense the moment he files his application.

“Why would one apply for amnesty if he is not guilty? Simply put, if one feels innocent, he should not apply for amnesty,” he said.

Fariñas quoted the ruling of the Supreme Court in People vs. Salig: “The invocation of amnesty is in the nature of a plea of confession and avoidance, which means that the pleader admits the allegations against him, but disclaims liability therefor on account of intervening facts, which if proved, would bring the crime charged within the scope of the amnesty proclamation.”

Last Wednesday, before endorsing President Aquino’s amnesty proclamation for approval by the entire House, the justice and defense committees elicited a commitment from administration officials to include a provision in the rules commanding an applicant to admit his or her guilt.

“We assure your honors that we will include that in the rules,” Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. told lawmakers.

Covered by Proclamation 75 are active and former officers and enlisted personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police who participated in the Oakwood mutiny in July 2003, the Marines standoff at Fort Bonifacio in February 2006 and the Peninsula Hotel occupation in November 2007.

The personalities involved in these incidents include detained Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, Lim and Marine Col. Ariel Querubin. Lim and Querubin unsuccessfully aspired for Senate seats in last May’s elections.

Responding to questions from congressmen, Ochoa, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Presidential Legal Counsel Eduardo de Mesa said applicants would have to file for amnesty with the Department of National Defense.

They said the amnesty takes effect once Gazmin approves it. Gazmin’s decision could be appealed with the Office of the President within 10 days.

De Mesa said an applicant with a pending court case can use his application in seeking dismissal of his case.

“The court should have no choice but to dismiss the case,” he said.

The officials said under the proclamation, active military and police personnel who apply for amnesty would be considered dismissed from the service upon the approval of their applications.

They said soldiers from the rank of Technical Sergeant and policemen up to the rank of Senior Police Officer 3 would be reinstated if their amnesty applications are approved.

Those from the rank of Master Sergeant and Senior Police Officer 4 will not be reinstated.

As for Lim, who defended their actions as constitutional, administration officials said he would have to admit his guilt if he applies for amnesty.

Muntinlupa Rep. Rodolfo Biazon, a party mate of Aquino in the Liberal Party, tried to block the approval of the amnesty grant but later relented.

Biazon said many officers and soldiers who have remained loyal to the Constitution have expressed to him their opposition to the grant since there is no assurance that those amnestied won’t repeat their offense.