House okays amnesty proclamation for rebels

MANILA, Philippines - The House of Representatives approved last night President Aquino’s proclamation granting amnesty to rebel soldiers, led by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV.

Voting 213-7 with two abstentions, the chamber approved Concurrent Resolution 8, which expresses its concurrence to the amnesty grant.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II, and Quezon Rep. Lorenzo Tañada III authored the resolution.

The Senate approved the amnesty grant last Tuesday.

The vote was 72 more than the required 141, or 50 percent of all members plus one, to approve an amnesty grant.

Before ratifying Concurrent Resolution 8, the House adopted the proposal of Minority Leader Edcel Lagman that applicants for amnesty be required to expressly admit their guilt.

The amnesty grant is contained in Presidential Proclamation 75. Eligible for amnesty 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.

Besides Trillanes, prominent personalities involved in these incidents included Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, then commander of the Scout Rangers, and Marine Col. Ariel Querubin, who unsuccessfully aspired for Senate seats in last May’s elections.

Even without the Lagman proposal, the House committees on justice and defense have secured a commitment from concerned administration officials that amnesty applicants would be required to accept their guilt.

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

Responding to questions from committee members, Ochoa, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, and Presidential Legal Counsel Eduardo de Mesa said applicants would have to file applications 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, military and police officers who apply for amnesty would be considered dismissed from the service upon the approval of their applications.

On the other hand, discharged soldiers from the rank of technical sergeant and dismissed policemen up to the rank of senior police officer 3 will 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 his and his colleagues’ actions as constitutional, administration officials said he would have to admit his guilt if he applies for amnesty.