Ex-member of Feliciano Commission hits provision on amnesty proclamation

MANILA, Philippines - A former member of a panel that probed the 2003 Oakwood mutiny yesterday criticized a provision of the amnesty proclamation that required rebel soldiers to admit their guilt, saying this would forever brand them as violators of the Constitution.

Retired Navy commodore Rex Robles, a former member of the Feliciano Commission, said such requirement would mean asking those who have yet to be convicted to incriminate themselves.

“The way I see it, it borders on self-incrimination,” Robles said in a phone patch interview.

He said the “violator of Constitution” label would deprive the applicants the chance to start a new life.

“Let’s say they start to find a job or something similar to that. They will be asked ‘What happened to you? You got amnestied.’ Then the amnesty states that ‘I am a bad person, I am not to be trusted because I broke the Constitution’,” he said.

Robles said the requirement that the rebel soldiers admit their guilt is “ridiculous.”

“Anyone who is not yet convicted is presumed innocent until proven otherwise. What happened to the presumption of innocence?” he said.

“The cheaters, the thieves, are they going to sign documents that they stole? To me, that is highly amusing.”

Robles said requiring rebel soldiers to admit their guilt contradicts the concept of amnesty which, he said, stems from “amnesia or to forget.”

“If you grant them amnesty and then ask them to incriminate themselves that would be a contradiction,” he said.

The draft implementing rules of the amnesty state that applicants should admit their participation in the anti-government uprisings staged during the Arroyo administration.

“No application shall be approved without an express admission by the applicant of actual involvement/participation in connection with, in relation or incident to the July 27, 2003 Oakwood mutiny, the February 2006 Marine standoff and/or the November 29, 2007 Peninsula Manila Hotel incident and that such involvement/participation constituted a violation of the 1987 Constitution, criminal laws and the Articles of War,” the draft states.

Officials have claimed that the admission of guilt would help stop adventurism in the military.

Applicants would be asked to acknowledge that their involvement in the uprisings constituted a violation of the Constitution, existing laws and the Articles of War.

They will also be required to recant all statements contrary to their admission of guilt but not their allegations against the previous administration.

Proclamation 75, signed by President Aquino last month, granted amnesty to military personnel accused of trying to oust the Arroyo administration. The amnesty would cover 378 officers and enlisted men.

Soldiers who joined the uprisings accused the Arroyo administration of engaging in corruption and poll fraud.

The amnesty would remove the criminal liability of the successful applicants. Enlisted personnel with the rank of technical sergeant and below would be entitled to a reinstatement.

The Senate and the House of Representatives separately concurred with the amnesty proclamation this month.

The defense department is finalizing the implementing rules of the amnesty proclamation.