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Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Group hits Palace for Teehankee pardon (1:37 p.m.)
MANILA -- The United Opposition (UNO) on Tuesday castigated Malacañang for “misusing” the power of executive clemency by pardoning convicted murderer Claudio Teehankee Jr. despite there being other prisoners more deserving of the pardon.
Almost 15 years after his conviction was upheld by the Supreme Court (SC), Teehankee finally walked out of the National Bilibid Prison a free man last October 2 for “good behavior.” Teehankee has been imprisoned there since 1991.
He was convicted by the SC in 1995 for the 1991 murders of Roland John Chapman and Swedish-Filipino Maureen Hultman during a traffic altercation.
“The power of executive clemency was once again misused by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The issue here is not how long Teehankee has spent time behind bars but rather why he was released,” Tamano said adding that his guilt was very clear and was precisely established by the court after exhaustive proceedings.
He said the power to issue pardon or clemency was an admission that the judicial system is not perfect but added that it should be used properly or else the people will lose respect for the legal processes or the judiciary.
The opposition spokesman said there are other prisoners who have served much more jail time than Teehankee or who are suffering from various diseases who deserved to be pardoned.
“The question here is why he was the one given? Is it because he is wealthy and influential?" Tamano asked.
Teehankee is the son of the late former Chief Justice Claudio Teehankee Sr. and brother of former Justice undersecretary Manuel Teehankee, who was named by Arroyo as the Philippine representative to the World Trade Organization (WTO). (AH/ECV/Sunnex) |
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