Should persons invoking the benefit of amnesty first admit having committed the crime of which they were accused?

To avail of the benefits of an amnesty proclamation, one must admit his guilt of the offense covered by the proclamation.

It is rank inconsistency for appellant to justify an act, or seek forgiveness for an act which, according to him, he has not committed. Amnesty presupposes the commission of a crime, and when an accused maintains that he has not committed a crime, he cannot have any use for amnesty. Where an amnesty proclamation imposes certain conditions, as in this case, it is incumbent upon the accused to prove the existence of such conditions. The invocation of amnesty is in the nature of a plea of confession and avoidance, which means that the pleader admits the allegations against him but disclaims liability therefor on account of intervening facts which, if proved, would being the crime charged within the scope of the amnesty proclamation. (Vera vs. People of the Philippines, G.R. No. L-18184, January 31, 1963)