Erap seeks GMA pardon
Ousted President Joseph Estrada withdrew his motion for reconsideration (MR) from the Sandiganbayan yesterday to seek a “full and unconditional pardon” from President Arroyo.
Acting Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera presented to reporters yesterday a copy of a three-page letter from Estrada’s lawyers addressed to Mrs. Arroyo to inform her of his decision to withdraw his MR and his desire to apply for a “full, free and unconditional pardon.”
The letter, dated yesterday, was signed by retired
Devanadera said the Department of Justice would have to verify from the Sandiganbayan whether Estrada had actually withdrawn his MR because the document was not attached to the letter to Mrs. Arroyo.
In the letter, Flaminiano said the appeals process, including the hearings at the Supreme Court, could “take a very long time,” and would mean that Estrada would have to be detained for a longer period.
“The time has come to end President Estrada’s fight for justice and vindication before the courts,” read the letter.
“Today we filed a withdrawal of his motion for reconsideration. President Estrada himself believes that appeal to the Supreme Court would be futile, for even the possibility of a favorable judgment will not justify several more years of detention.”
Reached at his detention quarters in Tanay, Rizal, Estrada confirmed that he has authorized his lawyers to inform Mrs. Arroyo that he has withdrawn his MR.
Estrada told The STAR he and his lawyers agreed last Saturday at his residence on
“Presiding Justice Teresita de Castro said at the oral arguments that she stands by her decision,” he said. “So we have no chance on our MR.”
Estrada said former senator Rene Saguisag, one of his lawyers, argued against appealing before the Supreme Court on grounds that Chief Justice Reynato Puno voted against Estrada’s continued stay in office after he left Malacañang on
“We don’t stand a chance to be acquitted because Puno was the one who invented the ‘constructive resignation.’ How can he (Puno) reverse himself,” Estrada quoted Saguisag as saying.
Estrada said he agrees with Saguisag’s opinion.
“I don’t stand a chance under this justice system,” he said.
“I bowed to the wisdom of my lawyers. Kayo sumulat (You write the letter). Wala naman akong chance (to be acquitted). So they were the ones who wrote her (President). I did not write her.”
Estrada said rabid anti-Erap groups and individuals would surely attack Mrs. Arroyo to stop her from exercising her constitutional power to grant executive clemency.
“That’s (grant of executive clemency) the sole prerogative of the President,” he said. “If the justices erred, she’s given that power by the Constitution.”
What is important to him right now is to be with his dying mother at her hospital bed at the
Erap’s family can’t wait
Estrada’s family agreed with the deposed leader’s decision to seek unconditional pardon, according to Sen. Jinggoy Estrada.
“We can’t afford to wait any longer,” he said.
Jinggoy said they could not “afford to bring the case to the Supreme Court because it will take years” before an appeal could be resolved.
“As you all know, my lola (grandmother) is already 102 years old and is in critical condition,” he told The STAR in a telephone interview from Geneva, Switzerland where he would speak on migration at the Inter-Parliamentary Union assembly.
“I hope Mrs. Arroyo will grant him absolute pardon and subject herself to the will of the people, a majority of whom believe that my father was innocent of the charges against him,” he said. “Definitely, there will be no admission of guilt.”
They could not expect any fair decision from the Sandiganbayan since the special division was specifically created “to convict my father,” Jinggoy said.
On the other hand, Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr., Estrada’s godson who withdrew support from him during Edsa 2, lauded the decision to seek a presidential pardon.
“For the sake of national interest and unity, I urge the government to reciprocate his effort,” he said. “This may be the key for the country to finally achieve unity.”
Villa-Ignacio: Erap MR to fail
Estrada’s withdrawal of his MR shows that it would be an exercise in futility to have the special division justices reverse his plunder conviction, Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio said yesterday.
In a telephone interview, Villa-Ignacio said the anti-graft court’s decision indicated that everybody is equal before the law.
“Nobody should be above the law, neither be beneath the law,” he said.
“The former president is now a convicted felon,” Villa-Ignacio said during the oral arguments last Oct. 19, adding that the prosecution was able to prove again that the evidence of the defense is all “irrelevant and immaterial.”
“Even before, after the promulgation, Estrada was not supposed to stay in the Tanay resthouse,” he said in Filipino.
Estrada’s withdrawal of his MR removes a key obstacle for Mrs. Arroyo to grant him a pardon that could free him from more than six years of detention.
Estrada was sentenced to a maximum of 40 years in prison for illegally amassing $12 million during his 30 months in power.
Estrada was ousted from power in a military-backed civilian uprising in January 2001. — with Sandy Araneta, Aurea Calica, AP
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