The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) vigorously opposed the Marcos Jr’s fake offer of amnesty. The regime’s chief executive, in a speech before the Philippine Congress 24 July, 2023, announced that he will be issuing an amnesty proclamation for all who will give up the Filipino people’s revolutionary armed struggle.

A day after the announcement, the CPP issued a statement asserting that the CPP and the NPA “will firmly reject Marcos’s treacherous offer of amnesty and surrender. It will be vigorously exposed and condemned as an additional instrument of deception and oppression.”

It will be recalled that previous regimes of the counterrevolutionary state have used offers of amnesty as sugar-coated bullets against revolutionary forces. In 1905 the US colonial government offered amnesty to Filipino freedom fighter Macario Sakay, but executed him later in 1907. In 1946, some leaders of the Hukbalahap were baited by the amnesty program of Quirino only to be murdered a few months later.

Installed into power by a combination of a military coup and giant mass movements, Corazon Aquino and Gloria Arroyo were pushed to declare amnesties and release a number political prisoners. Their regimes would later wage a brutal war of suppression marked by killings and massacres.

The CPP says the present regime’s insolent offer will be likewise rejected by revolutionaries who are motivated not by the selfish desire for some personal gain, rather by the selfless devotion to serve and struggle with the people. “The revolutionary cause for genuine national freedom and social justice is far greater than any Marcos offer of amnesty.”

The CPP continues, “Marcos’ offer of amnesty for those who will surrender is duplicitous, considering that close to 800 political prisoners remain in jails, and everyday, people are being arrested and persecuted for their political beliefs and social commitment. Under the banner of the ‘war against terror,’ people’s organizations everywhere are being suppressed and attacked, using the extraordinary draconian powers under the so-called Anti-Terrorism Law.”

In a subsequent development, the NPA-Southern Tagalog Regional Command outrightly rejected Marcos Jr’s offer. Ka Armando Cienfuego, spokesperson for the unit, says no member of the NPA-ST will accept the bogus offer. The fighters hold on to the people’s army’s strict discipline and firmly believe in the correctness of the revolutionary cause.

CPP further asserts, “The revolutionary cause for genuine national freedom and social justice is far greater than any Marcos offer of amnesty. Revolutionaries are motivated not by the selfish desire for some personal gain, rather by the selfless devotion to serve and struggle with the people.”