Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has issued a proclamation granting amnesty to members of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) among others who wish to return to the fold of the law, local media reported on Friday.
Proclamation No. 1377 grants amnesty to members of the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the 6,300- strong New People's Army (NPA), and the National Democratic Front, which groups the CPP-NPA and several other underground organizations, and other anti-government communist groups, Philippine GMA TV citing a statement by the presidential palace reported.
Arroyo signed the proclamation Thursday before she left for Sydney to attend the 15th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders Meeting in Australia.
The president said in the statement that the proclamation accepts anti-government members back into the folds of the law " through amnesty, and eventually providing them access to the government's existing socio-economic services," which is essential to attaining peace and reconciliation in the country.
There is an urgent need and expressed desire to extend amnesty to members of the CPP-NPA-NDF and other communist rebel groups as an instrument of reconciliation, and as a path for their return to a peaceful, democratic, and pluralistic society, Arroyo said.
Philippine Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said certified copies of the proclamation have been transmitted to the Senate and the House of Representatives for concurrence in accordance with the Constitution.
Source: Xinhua
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