QUIRICO M. GORPIDO JR.
Online contributor
Granting of presidential pardon must have some controlling measures to be strictly followed by any incumbent President of the republic. Whether the recipient of a presidential pardon is a former President or ordinary citizen who is found guilty of a crime, the controlling guidelines should always prevail in granting such kind of clemency. To grant presidential pardon to a former head of State or any Filipino citizen who is convicted of a crime, should be based on the weight of a crime committed and the duration of punishment he has to undergo in a prison cell. The decision should not be anchored on the whims and caprices of any president or to the irrational clamor of some sectors who are supporters of the convicted public official.
In a natural law, it says “what you sow you will reap”. In another way of saying it, “If you sow a wind, you will reap a whirlwind”. In a more understandable language, it is “If you sow bad, you will reap bad; if you sow goodness, you will reap goodness”. And science term, it says “In every cause, there’s an effect.” Base on all the definitions that we have stated, it is clear that “a person has to bear the consequences of his misdeeds”. The Nature’s law must be applied to all convicted persons regardless of his/her status in the society.
However, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has curtailed the flow of this natural law, thus stopping the consequences of former President Joseph Estrada’s conviction who is found guilty of plunder by the Sandiganbayan .In fact the case of actor-turned-politician Estrada was conducted in a series of public hearings by the Sandiganbayan that it has reached six years to finish. With the presentation of evidences against him by the complainant, it was found out that he was guilty of plunder, which he denied until he was granted presidential pardon by President Macapagal-Arroyo.
Now Estrada and his supporters were deeply elated of his freedom which he gained in a silver platter. But the people who love justice and fairness are not happy with the rush granting of presidential pardon. .For corrupt officials in the government and those who are prone to commit graft and corruption, they would be amused and smiling of what Madame Gloria did. They would be thinking that with the president’s intervention thru the so-called presidential pardon, any well-known public official who is guilty of plunder or other crime can easily get out of the hook. Where’s the good example here of a big official who committed a big crime like plunder and found guilty but was just released without allowing to suffer the consequences of his misdeeds? Only in the Philippines can we find this impulsiveness kind of decision? That’s a big question mark and to other public officials who have the inclination to commit wrongdoings in the government. They have seen a flagrant model of unpunished convict which is too bad an example for all of us who love justice and fairness.
We are not against the granting of presidential pardon per se, due to the fact that the convicted Estrada is already 70 years old. What we are saying here is that a convicted person must pass the kind of punishment in accordance with his misdeeds, regardless of the convict’s age. If impunity is being considered or still be enjoyed by any ex-high government official where is justice and fairness here? And I don’t think the Filipino people, particularly the millions of Filipinos who are suffering in the depths of poverty will like that kind of presidential pardon granted to a convicted former big official. And what about the time and effort invested by the lawyers of the Sandiganbayan who conducted a series of public hearings to dig the evidences and evaluate the truthfulness of the charges against him? Did it not go in vain after all?
Nevertheless, if the convicted Estrada needs a presidential pardon how much more for those convicts inside the prison cells and were repentant of their wrongdoings and wickedness? They have also waited for a presidential pardon. Those convicts who have served their respective prison terms of half of the length of punishment and have changed their ways of life, deserve such kind of presidential pardon from the President after conducting an in-depth evaluation of their performances inside the penitentiary, character,behaviour and personalities. On the other hand, Estrada’s pardon can wait until such time that he has served a portion of his sentence despite of his age. In applying the natural law on justice and fairness, the age of any person doesn’t matter for those who have committed crimes against the people of a certain country like the Philippines . Why? There’s a big difference between a repentant 35-year-old convict and the unrepentant 70-year-old convict. There’s also a big difference between a disciplined and prudent 35-year-old trusted public official to a 70-year-old public official who has forgotten that the people were the ones who put him in power and that h e/she should act in consonance with the legalities of the law and not on his/her impulsive decision.
Online contributor
Granting of presidential pardon must have some controlling measures to be strictly followed by any incumbent President of the republic. Whether the recipient of a presidential pardon is a former President or ordinary citizen who is found guilty of a crime, the controlling guidelines should always prevail in granting such kind of clemency. To grant presidential pardon to a former head of State or any Filipino citizen who is convicted of a crime, should be based on the weight of a crime committed and the duration of punishment he has to undergo in a prison cell. The decision should not be anchored on the whims and caprices of any president or to the irrational clamor of some sectors who are supporters of the convicted public official.
In a natural law, it says “what you sow you will reap”. In another way of saying it, “If you sow a wind, you will reap a whirlwind”. In a more understandable language, it is “If you sow bad, you will reap bad; if you sow goodness, you will reap goodness”. And science term, it says “In every cause, there’s an effect.” Base on all the definitions that we have stated, it is clear that “a person has to bear the consequences of his misdeeds”. The Nature’s law must be applied to all convicted persons regardless of his/her status in the society.
However, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has curtailed the flow of this natural law, thus stopping the consequences of former President Joseph Estrada’s conviction who is found guilty of plunder by the Sandiganbayan .In fact the case of actor-turned-politician Estrada was conducted in a series of public hearings by the Sandiganbayan that it has reached six years to finish. With the presentation of evidences against him by the complainant, it was found out that he was guilty of plunder, which he denied until he was granted presidential pardon by President Macapagal-Arroyo.
Now Estrada and his supporters were deeply elated of his freedom which he gained in a silver platter. But the people who love justice and fairness are not happy with the rush granting of presidential pardon. .For corrupt officials in the government and those who are prone to commit graft and corruption, they would be amused and smiling of what Madame Gloria did. They would be thinking that with the president’s intervention thru the so-called presidential pardon, any well-known public official who is guilty of plunder or other crime can easily get out of the hook. Where’s the good example here of a big official who committed a big crime like plunder and found guilty but was just released without allowing to suffer the consequences of his misdeeds? Only in the Philippines can we find this impulsiveness kind of decision? That’s a big question mark and to other public officials who have the inclination to commit wrongdoings in the government. They have seen a flagrant model of unpunished convict which is too bad an example for all of us who love justice and fairness.
We are not against the granting of presidential pardon per se, due to the fact that the convicted Estrada is already 70 years old. What we are saying here is that a convicted person must pass the kind of punishment in accordance with his misdeeds, regardless of the convict’s age. If impunity is being considered or still be enjoyed by any ex-high government official where is justice and fairness here? And I don’t think the Filipino people, particularly the millions of Filipinos who are suffering in the depths of poverty will like that kind of presidential pardon granted to a convicted former big official. And what about the time and effort invested by the lawyers of the Sandiganbayan who conducted a series of public hearings to dig the evidences and evaluate the truthfulness of the charges against him? Did it not go in vain after all?
Nevertheless, if the convicted Estrada needs a presidential pardon how much more for those convicts inside the prison cells and were repentant of their wrongdoings and wickedness? They have also waited for a presidential pardon. Those convicts who have served their respective prison terms of half of the length of punishment and have changed their ways of life, deserve such kind of presidential pardon from the President after conducting an in-depth evaluation of their performances inside the penitentiary, character,behaviour and personalities. On the other hand, Estrada’s pardon can wait until such time that he has served a portion of his sentence despite of his age. In applying the natural law on justice and fairness, the age of any person doesn’t matter for those who have committed crimes against the people of a certain country like the Philippines . Why? There’s a big difference between a repentant 35-year-old convict and the unrepentant 70-year-old convict. There’s also a big difference between a disciplined and prudent 35-year-old trusted public official to a 70-year-old public official who has forgotten that the people were the ones who put him in power and that h e/she should act in consonance with the legalities of the law and not on his/her impulsive decision.
If there’s no clear law yet on the granting of presidential pardon, Congress must act now with urgency on this regard. This is to make sure there would be no future repetition of such kind on the granting of presidential clemency in an illogical and improper way. If such law on this concern is already in existence, it should be reviewed by Congress and make some amendments to avoid the abuse of such prerogative power in the future.