Tuesday, September 25, 2007 Editorials: Asking Erap to accept pardon
INTERIOR and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno will visit today former president Joseph Estrada to formally present government’s offer of pardon to him.
Reports say Puno will be accompanied in his visit today to Tanay, Rizal by Erap’s co-accused in the plunder case (he was subsequently acquitted), Sen. Jinggoy Estrada.
Only in da Pilipins, one would say of the spectacle of a government sending an emissary to one convicted of a heinous crime to plead that he accept an offer of pardon.
Mere bluff?
Under normal circumstances, convicts are the ones who seek pardon simply because they are the ones who will suffer the consequences of refusing to do so.
If the Sandiganbayan decision convicting Estrada of plunder is upheld by the Supreme Court, for example, he will spend the rest of his life in detention.
That makes his insistence that he will never seek pardon from the Arroyo administration either part of his continued claim of innocence or a mere bluff.
Unrest
The Arroyo government, not Estrada, occupies the position of strength in this issue and should not therefore have been the one to kneel before him and offer pardon.
Unless Malacañang feels that, with Erap refusing to budge, implementing his punishment, like locking him up in Muntinlupa, will make a martyr out of him.
The feared scenario would then be widespread protest actions by Estrada supporters and possible anarchy that will play into the hands of coup plotters.
Composure
Which would show how weak the Arroyo administration is.
A strong presidency does not make a laughingstock out of itself by negotiating with, or more aptly kowtowing to the wishes of, convicts just to be able to survive.
Or maybe the Arroyo administration is just plain paranoid, conjuring images of unrest despite signs, as shown by Erap’s conviction, of his waning political strength.
Or can one fault President Arroyo’s advisers, some of whom were former Erap boys who later shifted their allegiance to Arroyo out of convenience, for the actuation?
Whatever. The point is that public interest would have been better served had Malacañang been more circumspect and maintained its composure in the Erap case.
