Sunday, October 12, 2008 Arroyo 'mulls' objection to Go's pardon
PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is "considering" the objection of the Maguan family to the pardon and release from jail of convicted killer Rolito Go.
But deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez maintained this is no guarantee that the release will be scrapped.
Golez issued the statement as he brushed aside allegations of a double standard in the national penitentiary where the rich get first crack at pardon.
"It's all up to the President. That prerogative was vested in her in the 1987 Constitution, which majority of Filipinos ratified. It's all up to the President. She will study it, let's wait for her decision," he said.
The family of Eldon Maguan, who Go shot dead in a traffic altercation in 1991, had objected to Go's pardon.
The row came on the heels of questions surrounding the sudden and "secret" release from jail of Claudio Teehankee Jr., who was convicted of murder in 1995 for shooting three teenagers in Makati in 1991.
On the other hand, Golez scored some sectors claiming double standard in the country's penitentiary.
"It's not right to say we divide the inmates into favored and not favored. It just so happened all of them are eligible for pardon or parole. The proper agency studies their cases," he said. (JMR/Sunnex)
