PBBM: Collaboration with ex-rebels vital to sustain peace in PH

By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos, Philippine News Agency

AMNESTY BOARD. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. leads the oath-taking ceremony of members of the Local Amnesty Boards of Eastern Visayas during his visit to Tacloban City, Leyte on Friday (March 14, 2025). In his speech, Marcos said granting amnesty to rebels who want to reintegrate into mainstream society is key to fostering peace and national unity. (Photo: Bongbong Marcos/Facebook)

MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has stressed the importance of bridging political differences and establishing a common goal with former rebels to maintain peace and order in the country.

During the oath-taking of members of Local Amnesty Boards of Eastern Visayas in Tacloban City, Leyte on Friday, Marcos acknowledged that granting amnesty to rebels who want to reintegrate into mainstream society is key to fostering peace and national unity.

“There is now a mechanism that is in place for us to bring back into the fold of the law, into society, those who have opposed the State for a while, for a good long while, and to the point of adopting the principles of armed struggle,” Marcos said, based on a video uploaded on state-run Radio Television Malacañang’s Facebook page on Saturday.

“Despite our differences and political ideology, our differences in policy maybe, we must always find a way to work through those differences and to somehow find an area of commonality and a consensus from which we can work and keep the peace and from which we can work to bring progress to our country.”

He said the creation of Local Amnesty Boards is crucial in ensuring the success of the government’s peace initiatives.

The attainment of lasting peace now lies in the hands of the Local Amnesty Boards, he added.

“I know that you are waiting to work very well and very hard to make sure that this peace process that we have embarked upon will continue. And now we are no longer just talking about it at a very high level, we are now actually putting on, making it work on the ground. So, the success of our peace process really lies in the work that you will be doing,” the President said.

The National Amnesty Commission (NAC) has established Local Amnesty Boards across the country.

The Local Amnesty Boards conduct initial eligibility assessments and forward recommendations to the NAC for amnesty applications of former rebels and insurgents, supporting their reintegration into mainstream society.

The step is significant in achieving lasting peace in regions affected by insurgency.

Marcos said the oath-taking of the members of Local Amnesty Boards of Eastern Visayas is a “very important” progress to the peace efforts that the administration is trying to build up and make better for the country.

“And this is why, this is necessary now for government and those former fighters to come together for the good of the country, for the good of the nation,” he said.