Prosecutor says surrendering Abu Sayyaf members with criminal cases will not get automatic pardon

THE ZAMBOANGA Peninsula Regional Prosecutors’ Office has assured the public that only members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) who had not been charged with any criminal offense are qualified to various returnee programs. Atty. Peter L. Medalle, the regional prosecutor for Region 9, told a group of civil society organizations during a forum on peace here last week that those with pending criminal cases will still have to face the law. Those who have not been charged with any crime, however, can be processed for the reintegration programs. Mr. Medalle explained that joining the ASG, which is notorious for kidnap-for-ransom and seajacking activities, is in itself not a crime. “The right or freedom to association is not a crime, and the constitution guarantees it… So if a member of the ASG identified himself to be a member of that group, there’s nothing wrong unless he has committed a crime,” he said. Since last year, several members of the ASG from the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi have surrendered to the government. — Albert F. Arcilla