WHEREAS, it
is known that many of our Muslims brothers have joined the rebellion or
secessionist movement engaged in subversion or became members of rebel
groups, or other similar elements because of a misunderstanding of the
objectives of the New Society and for grievances whether valid or
otherwise or of misguided idealism or of threats, intimidation coercion
and physical harassment;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, surveys and assessments made by authorities confirm this to be
true;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, the Government believes that to grant full and complete
amnesty to these Muslim brothers, who have taken up arms against the
Republic of the Philippines or its duly constituted authorities, but
who now lay down their arms and assume the peaceful role of citizenship
to participate in nation-building take the oath of loyalty to the
Republic of the Philippines and oppose the intervention of any foreign
power in the internal problems of the Philippines, will greatly
contribute to the restoration of peace and order in Mindanao and Sulu
and will also enhance the development of the region and ultimately
contribute to the promotion of the general welfare and well-being of
the entire nation; chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, to achieve such a desirable result without bloodshed and
unnecessary waste of the time and effort, it is necessary, just and
wise for the government to forgive and forego the prosecution of said
misguided Muslim Filipinos for all crimes committed by them against the
duly constituted authorities in pursuance of such rebellion or
secession.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines,
by virtue of the powers vested in me by Section 14, Article IX of the
Constitution, do hereby declare and proclaim full and complete amnesty
in favor of all Filipino Muslims who have committed any such acts of
rebellion, secession, subversion or treason, penalized under existing
laws in the provinces of North Cotabato, South Cotabato, Sultan
Kudarat, Maguindanao, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Zamboanga del
Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and Palawan and the
cities of Cotabato, General Santos, Iligan, Marawi, Zamboanga,
Pagadian, Basilan, Dipolog and Dapitan, in furtherance of their
resistance against the duly constituted authorities of the Republic of
the Philippines before the issuance of this Decree and who shall lay
their arms and submit themselves to the Special Amnesty Commission
within 60 days from the promulgation of this Decree. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
It is further decreed that in order to determine who among those
against whom charges have been filed before the courts of the
Philippines or against whom charges may be filed in the future, come
within the terms of this amnesty, the Special Amnesty Commission,
composed of five (5) members is hereby created pursuant to my
pronouncement during the Independence Day and whose members I shall
appoint, shall examine the facts and circumstances surrounding each
case, and if necessary, conduct summary hearings of witnesses for the
complainant and the accused. The Commission shall investigate each case
and, upon finding that it falls within the terms of this Decree, the
Commission shall so declare and recommend to the President of the
Philippines that amnesty be immediately granted such accused. The
accused shall forthwith be released or discharged.
It is finally decreed that cases now pending before fiscals, civil
courts and military tribunals against said persons granted amnesty for
any crime contemplated in this decree shall be dismissed motu propio by
the respective fiscals, civil courts, military courts and/or tribunals
upon petition by the prosecution of the accused after the grant of the
amnesty by me as herein decreed.
DONE in the City of Manila,
this 28th day of June, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and
seventy-four.
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