Members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF), armed wing of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), gather inside one of their camps in Mindanao. [File Photo from Agence France-Presse (AFP)]
The BTA expressed this through Proposed Resolution No. 396 adopted last week, March 25.
President Rodrigo Duterte on February 5, 2021 issued Proclamation No. 1090 and 1091 granting amnesty to the MILF and MNLF members who have committed crimes punishable under the Revised Penal Code and special penal Laws in furtherance of their political beliefs.
In his proclamations, Duterte said “an amnesty program is an integral component of the government’s comprehensive peace efforts and part of the implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro signed on 27 March 2014 between the Government of the Philippines and the MILF.”
“There is a need for the government to act on former combatants’ request for the grant of amnesty so that they may live in peace in the pursuit of productive endeavors without prejudice to any legal arrangement that may result from a negotiated settlement which the government is pursuing with the various rebel and insurgent groups,” his proclamations further read.
Said proclamations shall take effect upon concurrence by a majority of all the members of the Congress.
BTA’s resolution stated that the grant of amnesty, as a significant instrument of healing and reconciliation, to members and supporters of the MILF and MNLF will facilitate their return to peaceful, democratic, and pluralistic society that is essential to the attainment of peace and prosperity in the Bangsamoro.
The resolution was authored by Members of Parliament Maisara Latiph, Basit Abbas, Eddie Alih, Susana Anayatin, Muslima Asmawil, Bai Maleiha Candao, Saffrullah Dipatuan, Abdullah Hashim, Marjanie Macasalong, and Suwaib Oranon. (Bangsamoro Information Office)
