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PRESIDENTIAL PARDON POWER OR ABUSE Philippine Senate, March 16, 2005  Posted: August 6th, 2008 @ 12:31am I rise to condemn the systematic and flagrant misuse and abuse by this administration of our democratic institutions in oppressing its political enemies. The so-called Strong Republic has evolved and mutated instead into a Republic for the Strong, where might makes one right. Under this dispensation, our government has degenerated into a republic where only those with strong and close connections with the powers that be are afforded the full protection of the law. On the other hand, the ordinary citizens, the common tao, those who do not have influence or access to political and economic power are made to suffer government abuse and injustice. The ordinary citizen in this hapless and forsaken land must wallow in the quagmire of government neglect and indifference. Those righteous and law-abiding citizens who vigorously opposed the excesses of this administration are subjected to numerous harassment, oppression and character assassination. This present administration today has again abused its executive privilege by pawning part of this country’s sovereignty to a foreign power in order to tactically cripple the unifying symbol of the political opposition I refer to the undertaking executed by Mrs. Gloria1 Macapagal Arroyo when she unilaterally bargained and compromised Philippine laws, and with it, Philippine sovereignty. Mrs. Arroyo committed herself to concerned authorities of the government of the United States of America that in exchange for the extradition of Mr. Charlie “Atong” Ang, the death penalty will be waived in the event he is convicted here in the Philippines. Mrs. Arroyo unduly committed our government to the United States just to secure the extradition of Mr. Charlie “Atong” Ang, a Filipino citizen who is the subject of a request for extradition from the United States of America to the Philippines, for the crime of plunder punishable by reclusion perpetua to death under Section 2 of Republic Act No. 7080, as amended by Republic Act No. 7659. A document signed by Mrs. Arroyo and attested to by then Executive Secretary, and now Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo, was transmitted to then Secretary of Justice Simeon Datumanong on 09 October 2003. This document was authenticated by Justice Undersecretary Merceditas Gutierrez on 17 October 2003, for transmittal to the United States Embassy in Manila, where it was received by the U.S. Consul General David Donahue on 24 October 2003. Finally, an authenticated certified true copy thereof was later transmitted by the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. to the US. State Department on 12 November 2003. According to this administration, this undertaking was executed pursuant to Article 5 of the RP-U.S. Extradition Treaty. Paragraph 1 thereof permits the requested State - meaning, the United States of America or Las Vegas, Nevada - to refuse extradition when the offense for which extradition is sought is punishable by death in the requesting State - meaning, the Philippines - but not in the requested State, unless the requesting State provides assurances that if death penalty is imposed, it will not be carried out. Moreover, the President’s assurance is also premised on the Executive’s prerogative to grant pardon under the 1987 Constitution. Ayon sa kanila, ito po ay legal at naaayon sa batas at sa Konstitusyon. While I have no argument against the President’s use of her power to grant executive clemency, the use thereof must be tempered with the end in view that national interests shall be served. Sa kaso pong ito, ako po ay walang nakikitang malinaw at katangi-tanging interes para sa bayan na nakataya maliban na lamang kung ang personal na interes ni Ginang Arroyo ay siya rin nating ituturing pambansang interes. Her assurance that the Executive branch will not carry out the death sentence is tantamount to abandoning her sworn duty to uphold the laws of the land, which includes the punishment of the guilty. It is no secret that the forces cowering behind the walls of Malacañang have always feared the eventual acquittal of President Joseph Estrada of the unfounded charges leveled against him before the Sandiganbayan. The fear was further fuelled when, despite Mrs. Arroyo’s attempts at saving face amidst successive blunders and mistakes, the country still confronted a rising unemployment rate, a burgeoning and restive workforce, higher taxes, a depleted national coffer, and a morally bankrupt bureaucracy. And devoid of any moral compass, this administration has made a deal with a foreign government and in so doing, mortgaged its sovereign right just so it could extradite Mr. Atong Ang to the Philippines. The government, in its desperate attempt to cling to power, which is spuriously obtained, is seeking Ang’s extradition from Las Vegas, Nevada, to help the very, very incompetent Special Prosecutor to convict President Joseph Ejercito Estrada, whose popularity has been rising despite his unwarranted detention, while Mrs. Arroyo, despite frantic efforts from PR machinery, continues to nose-dive. Dahil po sa patuloy na pagbulusok ng kredibilidad at integridad ni Ginang Arroyo, siya po ay nagiging desperado at lalong nagiging marahas sa adhikain nilang manalo sa Sandiganbayan. The question that festers in my mind and in the minds of law-abiding citizens of this proud nation is this: Is this administration that continuously shouts to the high heavens that it has the economy and the country on the road to the promise land, so obsessed in keeping itself in power that it would resort to anything, give anything, in order to remove any and all obstacle that comes its way? Sa tingin ko ibibigay lahat ni Ginang Arroyo maipagpatuloy lamang ang kanilang pagluklok sa kapangyarihan. This is the master coup this administration is attempting to undertake. But the more important question that I would like to posit to this morally bankrupt administration is this: Why is this government so desperate in its attempt to push through with the extradition and at what cost? Who is Mr. Atong Ang to merit presidential attention? As we always say, “there is no such thing as a free lunch.” I do not have a malicious mind, but this situation would perhaps trigger a playful imagination even in the most conservative of human minds. This Get Out of Jail Free card that Mrs. Arroyo has so generously offered has severe repercussions to our criminal justice system. It effectively rewards the criminal and sends a clear and loud message to all criminals that so long as you tow the administration line, one can with impunity. Worse, this offer by Mrs. Arroyo: unprecedented in its generosity, has raised this issue to a whole new level. Mrs. Arroyo has made this fight personal. Hindi na po trabaho Iang, personalan na! In her desperate attempt to silence the unifying force for the opposition so as to consolidate her hold onto power, Mrs. Arroyo has abused her privilege under the Constitution and used it as a means to oppress and perhaps interfere with the judicial process currently underway. In assuring the United States that the death penalty will not he carried out, she has, in effect, preempted the Judicial branch of this government of its prerogative equally granted and protected under our fundamental law. Through her actions, she has made a mockery of the judicial process enshrined not only in our fundamental law but in the Filipino way of life. Nguni’t tila hindi po nakuntento si Ginang Arroyo sa kanyang pagwawalangbahala sa proseso ng ating hudikatura kundi ito ay nakikialam pa. She has unduly interfered in what is heretofore a purely judicial process and has made whatever the outcome of such process moot and academic. Worse, she has announced to the entire world that our time-honored judicial system can be set aside for the simple expediency of political power. This is a classic example of the famous line - “Absolute power corrupts.” But in her case, it has corrupted her absolutely. While people in Malacañang will state [that the action of the President is, on its face, legal, the more important issue that I submit to this august Chamber is: Is this wheeling and dealing, this culture of horse-trading, that Malacañang has eagerly brokered moral? Is she not adopting a double standard as far as the case pending at the Sandiganbayan is concerned? Spare Atong Ang so long as President Estrada is incarcerated? Where is justice? This latest attempt by Mrs. Arroyo to use government resources and institutions to harass and ensure the conviction of President Estrada at the Sandiganbayan at all cost has sent a strong message to all peace-loving Filipinos - this administration will take whatever means necessary to perpetuate itself in power. No one, and they mean no one, will stand in their way to hold on to power. In trying to compromise our laws, Mrs. Arroyo has, done irreparable injury to every Filipino today and to those yet to be born. I just received a news report that no visitors again are allowed entry into the Tanay detention center of my father for no reason whatsoever. And according to the Philippine National Police, even my mother, even the members of the immediate family are already barred entry in our Tanay resthouse. I do not find any substantive reason why they should bar even my mother to enter the Tanay detention center. According to reliable sources, the authorities, meaning the Philippine National Police, made this move to silence me in the Senate. Nabalitaan ko po kanina na ginigipit si Pungulong Joseph Estrada sapagkat lagi raw po akong nagsasalita laban dito sa gobyernong ito. Lagi raw po akong nagsasalita tungkol sa mga exposes ko sa Pagcor. Kaya iyon po ung isinagot nila sa akin na kahit sino, kahit mga kapatid ko, kahit ang sarili kong ina ay hindi nu raw puwedeng pumasok sa Tanay detention center. Iyon lumang po ang aking nais ipagbigay-alam dito sa Senado. |
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Copyright © 2008 Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada
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