The question not often asked about the absolute pardon granted by GMA to then President Joseph Ejercito “Erap” Estrada is: Who will ultimately benefit from such a pardon?
Consider the following:
Firstly, the power of executive clemency resides in GMA alone and no one else. She may at her own discretion forfeit such act of clemency or pardon at her own whim. In such a case, if Erap will create political havoc or even form a stronger force to quell GMA’s administration, the latter may so decide to place the former back where he rightfully belongs - the Bilibid Prisons.
Secondly, pardon is viewed as an “act of grace” from the President, done at the time when GMA is beleaguered with so many impeachable issues such as the ZTE deal and the payola to the governors. The act of being beneficent such as pardoning Erap was designed ultimately to dissipate such issues.
Thirdly, worded subtly in the letter of pardon, GMA does not anymore allow the former President to run for an elected position in the government. This actually violates the so-called unconditional pardon given to Erap as it does not restore complete civil and political rights on him but will forever hang the sword of Damocles over his head.
From the way it looks, the grant of pardon by GMA was made only for her political convenience and not for the general welfare of the nation. She will reap utmost benefits from such an act.
Many argue that the pardon will heal political wounds as it would eliminate the divisiveness and recrimination from the past. This is clearly hogwash. Our political wounds have become so deep-seated that they have long festered into a rotting economic situation, leaving our country dependent on OFW remittances. Such decadent result we know were inflicted upon the nation by these two giant politicos when they and their minions unmitigatingly commited plunder, emptying our coffers with their own selfish personal agenda in mind.
The pardon, to say the least, is simply an act of letting a convicted felon of hideous acts against our country go free, thereby sending a message to all that the rich and the politically powerful persons are above the law. The other plunderers could feel assuage by the fact that being a plunderer, he would easily be released from his criminal liabilities by the President in exchange for a political gain. Meanwhile, the wild party of corruption would go on and on at the expense of true justice.
To say the most, the pardon granted by GMA to Erap has opened a flood gate to more corruption, to more plunders, putting our country permanently with an indelible mark of being the most corrupt country in
I remember the time when the late Cecilia Muñoz-Palma, then Lady Chief Justice of the Supreme Court attended a Conference on Law in
On the third day, they finally arrived at a concensus: “No one is above the law”.
Kings, princesses or heads of the states and even our own President must never be above the law.
Alas! This appears to be the exact opposite of what GMA has achieved in pardoning Erap. She has not only arrogantly appeared to be above the law, she has also elevated the politically powerful to be beyond the reach of law and justice. No doubt, this would lead us to a more politically chaotic nation as the “act of grace” of GMA is no less than a shrouded curse to the rest of the Filipino people.
