Who's in charge here?

If people tend to believe criticisms that this administration is rudderless, it's because of cases like the pardon of Norberto Manero. The public can only gasp in dismay when their President admits, with his usual candor, that he was surprised by something he himself had made possible. In the last weeks of 1999, someone had submitted to President Estrada a list of 500 prisoners eligible for conditional pardon. The President signed the list, and the 500, in the spirit of Christmas, were freed in December.

Now the President and his officials are trying to fend off mounting criticisms about the "Christmas gift" that has turned out to be contro-versial. Among the 500 prisoners was Manero, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Italian priest Tullio Favali in April 1985 in Tulunan, North Cotabato. It became a celebrated case because Manero was a member of the Civilian Home Defense Force, the paramilitary group that was widely reviled and feared for perpetrating human rights abuses during the Marcos dictatorship. Favali's body was mutilated and his organs reportedly eaten by his killers as part of a cult ritual.

In November 1992, a group of priests and nuns asked then President Fidel Ramos to grant absolute pardon to Manero. Ramos instead commuted the life term to 24 years on Feb. 6, 1998. Members of the Board of Pardons and Parole recommended Manero's conditional pardon to President Estrada last year. The board as well as the justice secretary are defending the recommendation, pointing out that they followed rules and procedures for such cases. Should they have pointed out as well the political implications of Manero's release? If that's not part of their job description, it should be the task of at least one of the President's numerous advisers.

Since it's the President's signature on the document granting pardon, the buck stops with him. Still, you can't expect a President to go over every name in a list of 500. Isn't there a person or group that studies the implications of a document requiring the President's signature? Before sending papers to the President, someone should ask: Is this legal? Will this be popular? If it will be unpopular, is the administration ready to stand by its move?

It's not the first time that poor staff work got President Estrada in trouble. With this latest problem, the President should consider changing some of the people around him. They do the presidency -- and the nation -- a disservice.