Shameful surrender
Tuesday, 30. October 2007, 00:45:42
(Sorry for the delayed posting, I seem to have lost my internet connection over the weekend.)
Mrs. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo stopped being our country's president on October 26 when she pardoned her predecessor, disgraced former Philippine president Joseph Estrada who was found guilty by the courts to have plundered millions of dollars from the nation's coffers. By doing so, she abdicated her sworn responsibility to uphold the constitution and protect the nation's interest. The only interests she seems to care for are her own.
It is no secret that her very own administration has been beset with charges of corruption and misconduct. I think that with this executive pardon, she's covering her bases by making a precedent, just in case she finds herself charged with corruption when she steps down (if at all), that the next president might also pardon her. She's practically saying that from now on, presidents need not fear getting caught stealing for they are guaranteed to be protected by this ugly precedent.
Here's another take on the presidential pardon:
Mrs. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo stopped being our country's president on October 26 when she pardoned her predecessor, disgraced former Philippine president Joseph Estrada who was found guilty by the courts to have plundered millions of dollars from the nation's coffers. By doing so, she abdicated her sworn responsibility to uphold the constitution and protect the nation's interest. The only interests she seems to care for are her own.
It is no secret that her very own administration has been beset with charges of corruption and misconduct. I think that with this executive pardon, she's covering her bases by making a precedent, just in case she finds herself charged with corruption when she steps down (if at all), that the next president might also pardon her. She's practically saying that from now on, presidents need not fear getting caught stealing for they are guaranteed to be protected by this ugly precedent.
Here's another take on the presidential pardon:
What does this say to public officials? That it is now open season for graft and corruption. Or that at the very highest levels of officialdom, one can expect leniency for the most heinous crimes.
Ms Arroyo’s final reason for the grant of clemency only shows how quickly she had run out of rationalizations for her grave abuse of this presidential prerogative. Estrada’s promise not to seek public office does not diminish the gravity of his crime against the Filipino people or prove that he is a changed man. It is only reassuring to a regime that is insecure about its legitimacy and stability.
- Shameful Capitulation, Philippine Daily Inquirer
