THE National Amnesty Commission (NAC) has asked Malacañang to grant it the authority to issue safe conduct passes for amnesty applicants with pending arrest warrants, to enable the latter to file applications in local amnesty offices.
NAC chairperson Leah Tanodra-Armamento said the number of amnesty applicants remains low — at 1,950 as of February 3 — as many of the potential applicants are in hiding due to pending warrants for their arrests.
She said their target amnesty beneficiary is around 10,000 and the deadline for the submission of applications is in March 2026.
“Many could not apply because they have pending arrest warrants and are in hiding. So, if they inform is that they want to apply, we go to where they are hiding,” she said in Filipino in an interview.
Armamento said NAC can only issue a safe conduct pass for those committing a crime and it has no power against arrest warrants issued by the courts.
She said the request for the authority to issue a stronger safe conduct pass is still pending with the Office of the Executive Secretary which is still waiting for opinions of the defense and interior secretaries.
She said NAC has also already consulted with the Department of Justice led by undersecretary Raul Vasquez and the court led by Court Administrator Raul Villanueva on the matter and one solution is for the prosecution or private lawyers of the accused to file a motion to suspend proceedings to enable the applicants to file their amnesty applications.
Armamento said the NAC is also eyeing increasing its local amnesty board offices to accommodate more applicants especially in areas where there is a high number of rebel applicants.
NAC currently has 19 local amnesty board offices. Some regions and provinces like Bohol and Palawan are requesting for additional offices, she said.
Armamento said most of the applicants are former members of the Communist Party of the Philippines and New People’s Army, followed by former members of the Moro Islamic Liberation and Moro National Liberation Front.
President Marcos Jr. in November 2023 issued several proclamation that provide amnesty to members of the Rebolusyonaryong Partidong Manggagawa ng Pilipinas/Revolutionary Proletarian Army/Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPMP-RPA-ABB), CPP-NPA, MILF, and MNLF. The proclamation orders provide former rebels two years to apply for amnesty.