Soldiers, majority of them Marines, who lost their buddies in operations against the Abu Sayyaf group, may get angry if the government offers amnesty to the bandits, a military spokesman said Wednesday.

"They are the ones really in the frontline... They have seen how their comrades suffered in the field. They have seen how soldiers were killed or beheaded by the Abu Sayyaf group so, of course, it is a natural feeling to be angry," Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr., spokesman of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), told reporters.

In 2007, suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits and separatist rebels beheaded killed 14 Marines in an ambush in Basilan. The bandits dragged 10 of the bodies and beheaded them.

The slain Marines were searching villages in Basilan for the then-kidnapped Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi.

Brawner said the first ones who might feel slighted and angry if amnesty is offered to the Abu Sayyaf are soldiers who were directly involved in the operations to recover Red Cross workers Eugenio Vagni, Andreas Notter and Mary Jean Lacaba in Sulu province.

The Marines-led Joint Task Force Comet started pursuing the kidnappers right after the Red Cross volunteers were kidnapped in Patikul town last January 15.

Brawner, however, said soldiers "have no choice" but to respect Malacañang if it decides to offer amnesty to the Abu Sayyaf. "If our chain of command says that we will grant amnesty, then we will follow."

The military spokesman said Presidential Peace Adviser Avelino Razon Jr., former chief of the Philippine National Police, has yet to consult the AFP regarding Sen. Richard Gordon's amnesty proposal for the bandit group.

Brawner said that as of Wednesday afternoon, the AFP leadership has no stand if it would support Gordon's proposal.

He hinted that Razon and other members of the Cabinet should also consider the lives lost and logistics spent in the military's pursuit against the bandits.

While Malacañang is studying the proposal, Brawner said military units in Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Basilan, will carry on with their mission to finish off the Abu Sayyaf.

“No way!”

One of President Arroyo’s aides on Wednesday meanwhile thumbed down the amnesty proposal.

Secretary Jesus Dureza, Presidential Adviser on Mindanao, in a statement said he will not recommend offering the bandit group amnesty.

"Amnesty for ASG? No way! They have committed the worst inhuman and barbaric crimes. They must be made to pay for those atrocities. We will be putting a premium to terrorism if this will be done,” said Dureza who was in Indonesia meeting with his counterpart in the East ASEAN Growth Area (EAGA).

Since the cabinet security cluster is studying the proposal, as PA (presidential adviser) on Mindanao, I will not recommend it,” said Dureza.

Razon, said Wednesday that the government's policy not to negotiate with terrorists stands in the way of proposals to offer amnesty to members of the Abu Sayyaf terror group.

Former National Security Adviser and Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez meanwhile told ABS-CBN News on Wednesday that the ASG may not be qualified for amnesty.