Arroyo, Estrada, and the zarzuela in Malacañang

Finally, I am breaking my silence regarding the plunder case of Joseph Estrada, which I followed for the past months. I opted not to write about this in deference to the blog action I initiated for the Glorietta victims, then the Halloween break.It was also necessary for me not to react immediately, as this article has to be well-thought and carefully written. So here I am, still writing on this issue. Read on….

Politicized justice

Pardon one offense, and you encourage the commission of many.” (Publilius Syrus, ~100BC)

Pardoning former president Joseph Estrada has created not only quite a stir in the Philippine political arena. More than ever, it has created havoc in the Philippine justice system.

Needless to say, there was undue haste in pardoning the biggest and the most controversial crime ever recorded in the Philippine history—that is plunder by no less than the President of the Republic of the Philippines. Be that as it may, had Estrada admitted his guilt, it would have been a different story. Watching and listening to him on national television, telling the whole world that corruption was a crime he never committed, was more than an insult to the entire nation. Again, his kind of rudeness has attacked the dignity and the very heart of the justice system only a few hours after the People of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers of the President of the Republic, has freed him.

Is this the kind of payback we expect from a person who has received a guilty verdict and who has been given freedom by the very institution of Filipinos?

Boomerang!

Arroyo’s move has only aggravated the situation. There were insinuations that Malacañang was covering up for its foibles. The Glorietta 2 Blast which was earlier attributed to the military, failed to obscure the NBN-ZTE Deal controversy as it has has fizzled off in a matter of one week. Was it a ploy to redirect the attention of the critical Filipino masses? Perhaps, yes. Maybe, no. But what was apparently favorable to Arroyo was when she visited the relatives of the victims in Makati Medical Center, or after she has roamed Glorietta mall days after the incident. In fact, I found it admirable for a President, at her stature, to stoop down and bend her knees to comfort a mother. However, there is no way that the Glorietta blast could sustain the diversion from the real and burning issues.

If, indeed, they intended to cover up the issues with another issue, the issues only become more complex and compounded. Malacañang can always deny it is a diversionary tactic. However, it is unfortunate that anything or everything that is bad that is happening is being attributed to the Arroyo Administration. Is this a classic case of a boomerang effect.

Where now, Philippines?

“It is in justice that the ordering of society is centered.” - Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC)

The Arroyo Administration was trying to draw our attention to national healing reconciliation. But to their dismay, (if ever they were reading between the lines), Estrada has spoken against Arroyo in front of the San Juan crowd, that the Arroyo Administration has bribed him by offering to live outside the Philippines. It was not expected. Arroyo has underestimated Estrada. It did not only give Estrada the freedom but also a meaty role to take part in the zarzuela that is the dirty politicking in the Philippine bureaucracy. What healing and reconciliation is the Arroyo administration is talking about?

I have blogged earlier that the Estrada pardon may signal Arroyo’s early exit from Malacañang. Indeed, no less than former President Fidel V. Ramos expressed this same sentiment. The opposition, in fact, has filed supplemental affidavits to back up the earlier move to impeach Arroyo. A civil society group, backed up by the Catholic Bishops, is conducting a signature campaign for a the resignation of the Arroyo and De Castro. The businessmen are divided on the issue.

What healing and reconciliation is Malacañang talking about? Pardoning Estrada has even widened the gap of the already divided nation, leaving the country in a disarray of sorts.

At this point, we can only be spectators of this grand zarzuela being played at Malacañang.

However, as in any television or movie show, we now play a vital role—how the show should be run, the kind of plot we would like to see, who the actors and actresses should play, and who would be directing it.

With this, I would like to leave some quotes for you to ponder:

Civilization is built on a number of ultimate principles…respect for human life, the punishment of crimes against property and persons, the equality of all good citizens before the law…or, in a word justice. Max Nordau (1849 - 1923)

 

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 - 196

 

If it were not for injustice, men would not know justice. Heraclitus (540 BC - 480 BC)

 

I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law. Martin Luther King Jr.

 

Cross-posted at: Inkblots: Life Unraveled

Glorietta 2 Mall Blast: A week after

In deference to the blog action I initiated for today,
which marks the first week of the Glorietta 2 Mall Blast,
I will, in the meantime,
shut my mouth to talk about PGMA’s granting of executive clemency to
former President Erap Estrada.

Likewise, I encourage everyone to join my blog action.

God Bless!

Full, free and unconditional pardon

AS A FOLLOW THROUGH of my previous blog about this issue, I always make it a point to watch the news regarding the conviction of Former President Joseph Estrada for the crime of plunder. While watching him on the news yesterday, I realize once again that he did not only make himself lesser credible, but made him rather pathetic as he has, again, brazenly demonstrated his rudeness and audacity.

If my memory serves me right, he made a pronouncement last week that he is going to fight it to the hilt—that he is not guilty of plunder because they have a strong case.

Earlier the Estrada camp talked about filing a motion for reconsideration citing that Erap is not guilty of the charges, and citing that there was an error on the filing of the case. From what I gathered from the news on TV, they were saying that instead of [4] plunder cases, the prosecutors filed only one (1) which includes all the charges, and why the prosecutors did not file charges to those co-accused of plunder.

Earlier, Estrada brazenly said:

“What pardon? I only read those in the newspapers.”

“If possible we will fight up to the Supreme Court.”

Of course, State Prosecutor Dennis Villaignacio just shrugged off the issue saying the Estrada camp does not have a strong basis for a motion. Now, Erap is seeking a “full, free and unconditional pardon.” Perhaps he and his lawyers have come to their right senses that they should eventually swallow their pride and bulldoze their self-erected ivory tower. The Sandiganbayan judges have openly expressed that they will stand by their decision of “original guilty verdict.” This seems logical. Whose judge in his/her right mind would go against his/her own decision? Was it a lost cause for Erap, after all?

Malacañang wanted the former leader to apply for a pardon, admit his guilt, and wait for a final conviction by the court before he is granted a presidential pardon.

Article VII (Executive Department), Section 19 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution states:

Except in cases of impeachment, or as otherwise provided in this Constitution,
the President may grant reprieves, commutations, and pardons, and remit fines
and forfeitures, after conviction by final judgment.

He shall also have the power to grant amnesty with the concurrence of a majority of all the Members of the Congress.

Now that he has withdrawn his motion, his conviction becomes final, and ready to serve his sentence, would he be able to admit his guilt? I would wait for the day or night that he will show up in Philippine TV to admit that he had actually committed plunder.

The ball now is in the hands of Malacañang through the Department of Justice. May God guide them in their decision for pardon. By then President Arroyo could determine whether to grant him pardon, which may be full or partial restoration of his civil and political rights.

However, I still firmly uphold that pardon on his terms makes a mockery of justice. What should prevail now is justice for the common good.

We are now facing some challenges in the country:

1. The alleged bribery in Malacañang that has swelled to greater proportions;
2. The attribution of the Glorietta blast to the military and even to Malacañang;
3. The looming water crisis;
4. The issue on poverty that keeps on haunting us;
5. Not mentioning the NBN-ZTE deal which was shadowed by the “bribery scam”.

The timing of Presidential pardon now is very crucial. The Palace may be tempted to use this opportunity to recover the long-lost glory of President Arroyo, especially now that the country is facing these challenges, the Philippines would be on its way further down the drain. If this so happens, I am definitely sure that this would signal the early exit of President Arroyo from Malacañang.

Absolute pardon: Absolutely ridiculous?

We have followed the case for the past 6 years. The plunder case against the deposed President Estrada was not only monumental. More than ever, it is a test of the Philippine judicial system.

It not an easy case to handle even for the most distinguished men of the law. Yet the government prosecutors, who have the most honest and truthful intentions to show that they will be unperturbed despite the threats in their lives, chose to burn the midnight oil and vowed they would fight it to the hilt. Many advocacy groups saw through the process, and ensured that no one gets in the way for an honest trial. Last September 12, the Philippines literally stopped [for at least 10 minutes] just to watch or listen to the proclamation of the verdict. However, even before the government prosecutors could say they could rest their case, and take a much-needed holiday, here comes another issue to contend.

Presidential pardon has been dangled even months before the verdict has been read by the Sandiganbayan. And now, it is openly spoon-fed to the Estrada camp, which finds it a welcome gesture, after all. Earlier, the Estrada camp staunchly stood up against pardon—declaring to the whole world that accepting the Presidential pardon is tantamount to admission of guilt by the deposed President. For some reasons, it has suddenly softened its stance.

What could have softened their position? We do not know. However, what is clear to us right now is the absolute pardon that the Arroyo Administration is allegedly offering to former President Estrada.

Definitely, if the former President will accept the [Absolute] Presidential Pardon allegedly offered by Malacañang, he regains his freedom and can exercise his political rights again. Does absolute pardon free the former President from the indemnity of the plunder case in which he was found guilty beyond reasonable doubt? That is debatable. Many law experts say otherwise. According to them, the civil indemnity should not be part of the pardon. If he would be freed from his civil indemnity, what does this tell us? Simply put, “A President can rob a bank, and gets away with his stash.”

Why is the Arroyo government so gung-ho about offering a presidential pardon, and absolute at that?

The Presidential pardon, while allowed by constitution, is so soon! The man has not even made to suffer the consequences, and yet we are pardoning him from his crimes? Did he show the entire country that he is worth the pardon? Compare it with an ordinary man who has shown remorse after languishing in jail for some loose change he took from his employer, and takes years before a pardon could be given to him. Pardoning Estrada is also a welcome development for the sake of national unity and healing. However, does he show any form of remorse. Is that kind of law-breaker worthy of a pardon?

What is the bottom-line of this fiasco? Could it be about the Legitimacy of the Arroyo Administration? We know that the Estrada Camp and Fernando Poe supporters continue to question the legitimacy of the Arroyo administration. If Estrada accepts Presidential pardon, it is tantamount to succumbing to the present leadership; ergo, the Arroyo Administration is legitimate.

However, the Arroyo Administration may be short-sighted in this case—putting off the possibility that this act would have a long-term negative impact to the country’s judicial system. The judicial system is already in shambles since time immemorial. Now that it has made a significant leap with the conviction of former president Estrada it is, again, put to a test. It becomes a precedent that any government official can commit plunder! After all, they can be pardoned and get away with their stash. This is terrifying!

The presidential pardon, which is SO SOON, does not exist in a vacuum. It would have a negative impact not only in the judicial system. If PGMA is boasting about the economic development that the country has gained, she should think twice. While the foreign and local investors may have lauded the Estrada verdict, they might also be having second thoughts again, and might eventually lose their confidence on the government. While she appeases the masses that support Estrada, she is also neglecting the middle and working classes, which want nothing but justice. She should remember that the middle and working class are the ones who brought Estrada to trial, which put her into her seat now, and lastly, she should not forget that the middle and working class are the ones making this country move forward.

Cross-posted from:

Caught in a red tape

I received a morning greeting which says: “Sana maganda ang araw mo.” Sadly though, I do not have a good day! It is because I simply am pissed off from head to toe.

Who would not? Here is the reason why:

I am moonlighting in one of the institutions where I do a study. Some of the information I need can be found in my previous work. Expecting that my name still rings a bell among my former colleagues in my previous work (a private institution) or name dropping our former boss (who requested this information) would do the trick. So I got in touch with the point person, and expected that being one of them in the past or pakikisama would make it easier for me, so that I would not have to go through the formalities of sending an official letter, and so on. The information I was asking them was not exactly a public document. However, I believe that, practically, it becomes a public document once you work with the public. I was just asking them some information on the progress of their anti-poverty program.

It was just so upsetting when the point person told me to write a letter to their boss. So I made a draft letter to be sent by my client. But my client deems it would be unnecessary. Being a colleague in the same industry, he called the “smaller boss” who told the former that we can go directly to the “boss” of the point person.

Ecstatic with this development, I immediately called the “boss” today, but unfortunately, he is not around. As a usual recourse and not waste my celfone load, I told the lady who answered my call about my objective, who in later turned me over to another lady. Again, I narrated the “historical account” why I called their office, only to be told she could not decide on the matter because only the “boss” can decide. The best action would be to talk directly to the “boss” so I asked for his mobile number, but she refused to give me the number and reasoned out that her “boss” does not take calls from unknown callers. Duh! Again, I asked for the “boss’” direct email address so I can thoroughly explain my request. With some reservations in tone of her voice, she gave me the e-mail address. So back to square one—write an official letter, albeit not to the “big boss” anymore (which is, at least, one step further).

I do not know when the “boss” would reply to my e-mail. The first informal e-mail I sent to the point person was left unanswered. Would the “boss” do the same to me (being an “unknown person”)? What are e-mail addresses for, anyway? Again….duh!

This experience is a far cry from NEDA’s efficiency and high concern for client relations. To think that it is a government agency, which is supposedly to be bureaucratic, I immediately got a response from them. A section chief whom I talked to even gave me a snack during our short meeting, personally accompanied me to different departments just to look for the information I needed, and gave me other names and numbers of contact persons in other agencies and partners where I could get some information I need. Sweet life!

And here is the lesson for the day:

Bureaucracy and red tape is not the monopoly of the government. Now that government agencies are always under the watchful eye of the discerning public, they are always trying to become more efficient and effective in their delivery of services. Primarily because they owe the public.

I feel sorry for private institutions, which are not bound by any civil obligations. The least they could do, I think, is uphold their moral obligations, especially when their intention is to work for and with the poor. What if the information I requested from them is a matter of national security or of life and death? We would all be ashes by now.

Sometimes, private institutions must also learn from government agencies when it comes to reducing red tape.

Cross-posted from: