Gov't clarifies amnesty to Muslim rebels

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - Granting amnesty to members of a rebel group like the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is not surprising and new in the Philippines, a senior government official said in a press briefing today.

Philippine Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles made the remarks after the government and MILF peace panels signed the Annex on Normalization of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) on Saturday, which is the last annex of their framework peace agreement.

The annex includes clause on the granting of "amnesty, pardon and other available processes" on MILF members charged with or convicted of crimes and offenses connected to the armed conflict in southern Philippines, she said.

"It is not the first time that the Philippine government will be undertaking amnesty. This is not one of those ground-breaking things, it has been done before," she said in Malacanang, the presidential palace.

In the case of the MILF, Deles said that it was not asking for a "blanket amnesty," but the group wants to provide a list to the government on who would actually be covered by this.

She said that Philippine President Benigno Aquino III will issue a proclamation with concurrence by Congress on the amnesty for MILF members.

Meanwhile, government chief negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer in the same press briefing said that there will be a process of " putting beyond use" of the MILF's high-powered weapons and cruiser weapons since they could not be possessed by any individual or group other than the State.

Two of the options on what to do with those weapons would be to place them under the custody of the independent decommissioning body or to destroy them outright, she said.