Tanjay City: Twenty former rebels and members of the breakaway Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa-Pilipinas/Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPM-RPA-ABB) in Negros Oriental are applying for government amnesty, a military official said Tuesday. Capt. Arvin Talco of the Philippine Army's 302nd Infantry Brigade Civil Military Operations announced that the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) is spearheading the amnesty application.

According to Philippines News Agency, the amnesty applicants are members of the Kapatiran Para sa Progresong Panlipunan-Negros Oriental chapter who have gone through an evaluation process for the amnesty application. Kapatiran is the new name for the RPM-RPA-ABB under the Tabara-Paduano Group that entered into a peace agreement with the Philippine government.

The RPA-ABB originated as a breakaway faction of the New People's Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines. Key figures such as GPH-Kapatiran chair Cesar Yano, National Amnesty Chair Leah Tanodra-Armamento, and GPH-Kapatiran co-chair Ma. Veronica Tabara are expected to attend the activity at the brigade headquarters at Camp Leon Kilat, Tanjay City on Wednesday.