Last week, news broke out that there was another campus shooting, this time in Delaware State University. The news brought me back to several months ago when CNN had breaking news about the massacre at Virginia Tech. I could have sworn that I felt a tremor when news updates indicated that the perpetrator was of Asian descent. It must have been from Filipinos simultaneously falling to their knees and praying “Huwag sana Pinoy. Huwag sana Pinoy.” (Please don’t let it be a Filipino.)
Let’s face it. As a people, we are capable of greatness. But this is coupled with an uncanny ability to embarrass ourselves.
In 1986, we ousted a tyrant through non-violent means. Then we squandered all that goodwill away by replacing that tyrant with equally malevolent creatures. We have elected morons and idiots into our legislature. We elected Erap Estrada as our president mostly on the notion that he cares for the masses and that since he was rich enough, he would no longer be interested in enriching himself. Wrong!
Once again we have achieved temporary honor of successfully convicting a former president of plunder. Predictably, we are also about to squander that honor with different government officials falling on top of one another to grant the former president one form of clemency or another.
Have we lost our senses?
The Sandiganbayan judgment of plunder against Joseph Estrada would not become final until next week or until the Supreme Court makes a final determination if Erap decides to appeal the decision. The rush to grant him clemency reeks of politics.
The Sandiganbayan decision is only on the criminal aspect of the plunder case. There may still be a civil aspect that needs to be settled. And then there’s the matter of the non-payment of taxes. Remember, the Sandiganbayan only found over PhP700 million to have been directly derived from illegal sources. Some Php3 billion have been determined to have gone through various accounts for which the appropriate taxes have not been paid.
There is not only talk but there are actual negotiations going on to grant Erap Estrada absolute pardon. Absolute pardon means that everything would be absolved—criminal liability, civil liability, tax liability, as well as disqualification. Is Gloria Arroyo really prepared to grant all that?
Were this to happen, it would not simply be a case of “two steps forward, one step back.” It could not be “two steps forward” because it has long been overdue for us to convict a former leader of crimes against the Filipino people. The Sandiganbayan judgment against Joseph Estrada could, at most, be just one step forward. And that would be way too generous.
A grant of absolute pardon would, at the very least, be ten steps back. Just imagine how we would look to the rest of the world. Sure, we’ve convicted a former president of plunder. But the ink is hardly dry on the judgment when he is granted pardon. And it’s not just any type of pardon. It must be absolute pardon, lest Erap Estrada would not accept it. The way the Arroyo administration is bending over backwards to accommodate Erap Estrada’s whims could put to shame a Cirque du Soleil contortionist.
It’s amazing that we still feel offended when other nations treat us badly or takes us for granted. The humiliation and debasement we impose upon ourselves pale in comparison to most of what other nations put us through. I, for one, am too tired of shitting and pissing in my pants before the world stage—figuratively speaking, of course.
We should start respecting ourselves first before we can ask other nations to respect us. The judiciary has already given us the opportunity to raise our heads up high again. Don’t let the Gloria Arroyo and those of her ilk blow this chance for us once again.
Let’s face it. As a people, we are capable of greatness. But this is coupled with an uncanny ability to embarrass ourselves.
In 1986, we ousted a tyrant through non-violent means. Then we squandered all that goodwill away by replacing that tyrant with equally malevolent creatures. We have elected morons and idiots into our legislature. We elected Erap Estrada as our president mostly on the notion that he cares for the masses and that since he was rich enough, he would no longer be interested in enriching himself. Wrong!
Once again we have achieved temporary honor of successfully convicting a former president of plunder. Predictably, we are also about to squander that honor with different government officials falling on top of one another to grant the former president one form of clemency or another.
Have we lost our senses?
The Sandiganbayan judgment of plunder against Joseph Estrada would not become final until next week or until the Supreme Court makes a final determination if Erap decides to appeal the decision. The rush to grant him clemency reeks of politics.
The Sandiganbayan decision is only on the criminal aspect of the plunder case. There may still be a civil aspect that needs to be settled. And then there’s the matter of the non-payment of taxes. Remember, the Sandiganbayan only found over PhP700 million to have been directly derived from illegal sources. Some Php3 billion have been determined to have gone through various accounts for which the appropriate taxes have not been paid.
There is not only talk but there are actual negotiations going on to grant Erap Estrada absolute pardon. Absolute pardon means that everything would be absolved—criminal liability, civil liability, tax liability, as well as disqualification. Is Gloria Arroyo really prepared to grant all that?
Were this to happen, it would not simply be a case of “two steps forward, one step back.” It could not be “two steps forward” because it has long been overdue for us to convict a former leader of crimes against the Filipino people. The Sandiganbayan judgment against Joseph Estrada could, at most, be just one step forward. And that would be way too generous.
A grant of absolute pardon would, at the very least, be ten steps back. Just imagine how we would look to the rest of the world. Sure, we’ve convicted a former president of plunder. But the ink is hardly dry on the judgment when he is granted pardon. And it’s not just any type of pardon. It must be absolute pardon, lest Erap Estrada would not accept it. The way the Arroyo administration is bending over backwards to accommodate Erap Estrada’s whims could put to shame a Cirque du Soleil contortionist.
It’s amazing that we still feel offended when other nations treat us badly or takes us for granted. The humiliation and debasement we impose upon ourselves pale in comparison to most of what other nations put us through. I, for one, am too tired of shitting and pissing in my pants before the world stage—figuratively speaking, of course.
We should start respecting ourselves first before we can ask other nations to respect us. The judiciary has already given us the opportunity to raise our heads up high again. Don’t let the Gloria Arroyo and those of her ilk blow this chance for us once again.
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