Philippine Lawmakers Urged to Legalize Communist Party

President Fidel V. Ramos on Monday urged Congress to legalize the outlawed Philippine Communist Party as a step toward ending Southeast Asia’s longest-running Marxist insurgency.

In a state of the nation address, Ramos also said he is submitting to the legislature for its immediate approval a proclamation granting amnesty to all rebel groups in the country, if they apply for it.

The president, who took office June 30 after winning May elections, also called on Congress to restore the death penalty to curb what he said was a resurgence of “heinous crimes.”

Ramos asked the legislature to repeal a decades-old law banning the Communist Party “so that (party members) will no longer be outlawed but allowed to compete freely, openly and peacefully in the political, economic and social arena instead of their following the path of armed struggle.”

The nation will not make any economic headway for as long as it is racked by instability, he told a joint session of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

The previous government of Corazon Aquino also considered legalizing the Communist Party but never made any formal proposal to the legislature.

Ramos indicated his proposed amnesty program would cover the Communist New People’s Army (NPA), Muslim guerrillas fighting for self-rule on southern Mindanao island and right-wing rebel soldiers linked to coup attempts. The NPA has been fighting for a Marxist state for 23 years.

The guerrillas, in a statement, called Ramos’ move “plain gimmickry and hollow posturing.”

Political analysts said Ramos’ proposal is expected to trigger fierce debates in Congress, especially in the conservative House of Representatives.