The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) has backed a proposal to extend the amnesty program for former rebels until 2028 due to the sheer number of pending applicants.
Based on the latest data from the National Amnesty Commission (NAC), there are currently 4,269 people as of 19 September 2025, 4,269 former rebel0, who have applied for the amnesty program which is set to lapse on March 13 of 2026.
‘Then, we got an information from the Task Force Balik-Loob wherein they informed us that they have a total of 50,000 potential applicants and we have the remaining six months to receive the applications,’ National Amnesty Commission Chairperson Leah Tanodra-Armamento said in a press briefing in Malacañang last Wednesday.
The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) Executive Director Ernesto C. Torres Jr. said the proposal is now under review.
‘Its approval [is] held in abeyance pending further review of the Office of the President, so that this status on that,’ Torres said.
Armamento hopes to extend the amnesty program for two years or until 13 March 2028 with the support of Congress.
‘The reason for that is that when a proclamation for amnesty is issued by the President, we have to ask congress for concurrence. So, if we want that-we only ask one more time from Congress so that it will be too much of an effort from the part of the National Amnesty Commission,’ she said. The NAC has recommended to President Ferdinand Marcos the granting of amnesty to only 9 former rebels.
In a statement, the Office the Presidential Adviser of the Peace Process announced that Marcos has approved the recommendation of the NAC, which covered eight former members of the Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army – National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) and one former member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The slow pace of the approval of the amnesty applicants was due to the large number of NAC members, who must sign the certificate of amnesty including the secretaries of Justice, Interior and Local Government, National Defense as well as the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process.
Most of the said NAC members conduct their own review and vetting process for the applicants. This results in an approval process which can take from a week to as long to two months.
Marcos authorized the granting of amnesty to members of the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa ng Pilipinas/Revolutionary Proletarian Army/Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPMP-RPA-ABB), CPP-NPA-NDF, MILF, and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) through four proclamations, which he issued in 2023. (Samuel Medenilla)