While I may not have really been blown by the decision of the President to grant executive clemency or pardon to Erap Estrada and his plundering ways, I was shocked though by the rush (or is it rash) by which it was granted. Apparently, there is some political wisdom in pardoning Erap – at least for GMA's shaky perch. However, the very act of giving Erap what he wanted (so desperately, you might add) immediately as soon as Erap's lawyers (not Erap for Chrissake) had asked for it betrays an administration that must deal from a position of weakness of a self-inflicted kind. Still, conventional wisdom suggests that GMA could have held back her decision a few more days and, in the process, earned some respect from Erap and her other detractors. She didn't even wait for any clamor to grant Erap his pardon! If GMA would be treated like a lameduck President after this, it is totally her fault.
What bothers me most about the decision was that the pardon was given without any show of remorse from Erap. When one asks to be forgiven, which is what asking for pardon is, you must first make an admission that you have committed a sin and make a show of SINCERELY being sorry. There was nothing sincere about Erap's request, nay demand for pardon. In fact it was totally hypocritical. Didn't Erap say he was submitting to the wisdom of his lawyers to seek for GMA's pardon because he no longer believed in our country's justice system? I am pretty sure Erap is not that stupid as to not know that pardon is part of the justice system he no longer believed in. Likewise, Erap is still trying to fool people into believing he didn't commit any crime. If you're not guilty, why ask to be pardoned?
Some apologists tried to explain, by way of extolling the decision for some, that granting Erap his pardon demonstrates the magnanimity if not the humanity of the Arroyo administration while taking note of Erap's age (70) and the state of his mother. There are also those who claim that GMA's act is consistent with her call for reconciliation and the timing of the decision's announcement should be a non-issue. It is time to move on, they say.
It is also worth noting that before last Thursday's announcement, Malacañang stoutly proclaimed that there are conditions Erap must accede to before he may be pardoned. Based on the reports, it appears that the Estrada family agreed to recognize the legitimacy of GMA's presidency. Yes, readers, the Estradas' recognition of the legitimacy of Arroyo's leadership is a lot more important than Erap's admission of guilt. If anything, the act is an admission of guilt, not by Erap but by GMA who's not really sure she is the legitimate President of the Republic as suggested by Malacañang's act of requiring Erap to legitimize her presidency.
This development may have a very serious impact on our view of morality. You could almost hear the man on the streets say it: Kung milyun-milyon ang ninakaw mo, bibigyan ka ng pardon. Pero kung barya-barya lang, bubugbugin ka ng buong bayan. And we say street people have a crooked morality?
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Despite that shocker of a pardon, Erap is nowhere near as popular as he or other people would like us to believe. I am pretty sure if a poll were conducted to determine the most popular Pinoy right now, Pampanga governor Ed Panlilio and Joey de Venecia would easily be the runaway top two while Erap would be looking up way behind Manny Pacquiao and Kokey.
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Following Panlilio's bomb several Arroyo supporters tried to picture Panlilio as a fool but so far have only succeeded at painting their depravity for our viewing (dis)pleasure. Take Environment Sec. Lito Atienza, for instance. When he said that the giving of money to local congressmen and local officials by Malacañang is nothing out of the ordinary (read: normal, a standard practice), I am pretty sure he didn't have the permission of his boss to make such a stunningly revealing statement. An administration not as desperate as the present one would have sacked him right away for such careless pronouncements. When you come to think about it, Raul Gonzales and Ignacio Bunye are still cabinet secretaries despite several faux pas to their names.
What disturbs me about the issue is that the government normally deals with checks, not cash. If, as Atienza claims, receiving money from Malacañang is nothing out of the ordinary, then why give it in cash? And if it is, indeed, true that the money was meant as assistance to the provinces for this week's barangay elections, is it the normal practice to hand the money over to the governors and not to the agencies concerned? Does this also mean that a governor may be summoned to Malacañang (in the guise of a meeting) just for the simple errand of delivering money from Malacañang (or wherever it came from) to his province? Looks to me like Arroyo's allies could do GMA greater service by shutting their yaps since all they have achieved so far is provide more nails to crucify her with.
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Baguio City congressman Mauricio Domogan denied receiving money during the controversial meeting in Malacañang. I can believe him. Domogan is a favorite of former president Fidel Ramos who remains an influential figure in Lakas, the party whose support GMA needs to make it through 2007. It would indeed be rather patronizing of GMA to hand Domogan a “paltry sum” considering his importance to the coalition. A project with an eight-digit funding may perhaps be more like it.
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This Monday’s barangay elections hold some particular interest especially so that it is being held only five months after the midterm elections. It will be interesting to see how the politicians who lost in the May polls would respond against those re-electionist barangay chairmen who played a key part in their electoral defeat. Will ex-Congressman Laurence Wacnang and his son-in-law James Bejarin lend their resources in bringing down those barangay captains who blindsided them last May? Of course, this is not to say that the incumbents would sit back, relax and amuse themselves. They’ll be working hard to get their own people into position.
The more interesting aspect in the barangay elections though, at least in the case of our very young city, is that running for a post in the remote barangays is more expensive than gunning for a post in the more progressive barangays. The poorer the barangay, the costlier it is to get elected. As one candidate rued, butchering one carabao used to make enough of an impression to the voters but that seems a long, long time ago.
Which makes me wonder how accessible had Mayor Camilo Lammawin Jr. and Vice-Mayor Rainier Sarol been these last few days. The two gentlemen should pay attention to the fact that only eight of the Tabuk City’s 43 barangays are classified as urban while the rest are struggling – an unusual ratio for a city, if we may say so.
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In Barangay Bulanao where I live, an interesting contest has shaped up between the incumbent Benny Sugguiyao and Illo Gunnawa, both of whom belonging to the Lubo tribe and related by blood, too. It can easily be argued that Gunnawa is the most feared resident of this fearsome barangay while the incumbent is the most outspoken.
I don’t want to comment on this one as Sugguiyao is my uncle while Gunnawa is my cousin. I can’t help but wonder though if we will finally see the last of jueteng in Tabuk if Manong Illo does get the Bulanao chairmanship? If you’re wondering about that last comment, ask a Tabukeño.
**Bani Asbucan
