Bacolod City – Three remnants of the dismantled Northern Negros Front of the Komiteng Rehiyonal Negros/Cebu/Bohol/Siquijor surrendered to the 79th Infantry Battalion and Philippine National Police recently.
In a statement, the 79th Infantry Battalion disclosed that the three former rebels wanted to follow the footsteps of their former comrades who applied for government amnesty.
Fifty-three former NNF members were assisted by the 79IB in filing amnesty applications before the Local Amnesty Board in Bacolod last week.
All over Western Visayas, a total of 300 former rebels have filed for amnesty, according to the 3rd Infantry Division.
Lt. Col. J Jay Javines, 3ID Civil Military Operations chief, said the deadline for application in the government amnesty program will be March 2026.
The amnesty will be granted to former NPA rebels with offenses in pursuit of political beliefs, such as rebellion, insurrection, scandal, and disturbance, among others.
With the granting of amnesty, former rebels would be exonerated from the offenses covered by the program.
“This means if a former rebel has a warrant, they will not be imprisoned or arrested,” Javines said, stressing that the amnesty enables former rebels to be absolved of their crimes, regardless of the number of offenses committed in pursuit of political beliefs. (Gilbert Bayoran via The Visayan Daily Star)