I am proud to have been part of EDSA 2, the only rally that i have joined my entire life. Having graduated from the University that prouds itself to be the beacon of activism, this was the only issue i cared advocating. The thundering chant of 'ERAP RESIGN now!' still reverberates all over my body, the honking of vehicles to the same tune excites us and energizes us even more. Now it's history.ERAP did resign -- constructively as the Supreme Court puts it. We did push him out of office after all. Now it's history.
The Sandiganbayan have valiantly stayed put and remained unblemished from outside pressure. For SIX long years they have labored and sifted thru truth and lies and have managed to CONVICT Erap of Plunder. The day we saw justice triumphs over those ho have flouted the law big time and have condescendingly raped the national coffers in favor of his kamag-anaks, kaibigans, and kumpares... the same lot he have sworn on his first day to never allow to influence his administration. Yes we are jubilant, to use elation is an understatement. It have shown the whole world that we are serious in stamping out graft and corruption. Now, that's history.
It's not entirely a surprise though, the talk of pardoning prisoner Erap lingers like a putrid decaying corpse. And yes there were a lot of threat and opposition against any grant of pardon. And yet despite it, Arroyo the unpopolar, barely weeks of conviction, have formalized the rumors and pardoned Erap she DID. The President’s order in full: Accessed 30 October 2007
Following that same reasoning, then never should we see any prisoners age 70 and above. Rightfully indignant, Erap committed the biggest crime against the state and that is PLUNDER.
According to the Revised Penal Code :
Agree or not, 2 weeks more and PINOYS would not even care.
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But contrary to popular demand, I beg to not join those who call for Arroyo's resignation. The alternative to this administration as FVR puts it is ANARCHY, and nobody wants it (?). The constructive thing to do is to set sight of 2010, build a credible lineup of personalities that would bring our country not only economic wealth but instill patriotism, morality, and a sense of nationhood that after more than 100 years of independence we haven't really acquired nor enjoyed.
Side note. Kasi naman everytime I see or hear Oscar Cruz, Antonio Tobias, Nene Pimentel, Teofisto Guingona, Dinky Soliman point their accusing fingers and open their loudmouth, I lose interest to anything they are filibustering about. Sad bunch of old frustrated wannabes.
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And to everyone who have sold their souls to the devil just to hold on to that fleeting political clout, Hala, Mata lang ang walang latay sa takdang panahon!
----
In spite of all these, Yes, the Filipino people is still worth dying for! Somehow justice will be served and exacted to those who have deprived the others.
The Sandiganbayan have valiantly stayed put and remained unblemished from outside pressure. For SIX long years they have labored and sifted thru truth and lies and have managed to CONVICT Erap of Plunder. The day we saw justice triumphs over those ho have flouted the law big time and have condescendingly raped the national coffers in favor of his kamag-anaks, kaibigans, and kumpares... the same lot he have sworn on his first day to never allow to influence his administration. Yes we are jubilant, to use elation is an understatement. It have shown the whole world that we are serious in stamping out graft and corruption. Now, that's history.
It's not entirely a surprise though, the talk of pardoning prisoner Erap lingers like a putrid decaying corpse. And yes there were a lot of threat and opposition against any grant of pardon. And yet despite it, Arroyo the unpopolar, barely weeks of conviction, have formalized the rumors and pardoned Erap she DID. The President’s order in full: Accessed 30 October 2007
“Whereas, this Administration has a policy of releasing inmates who have reached the age of seventy (70),One moment we are ecstatic, the next gloomy. The outrage is not without any basis. 1) The conviction has not even reached a month to be celebrated; 2) ERAP has never been to a real Pinoy jail, the one that is overcrowded and reeking with cockroaches; 3)The reason that he is 70 and that it is a state policy to release such convicts is outright unfair if not illogical.
“Whereas, Joseph Ejercito Estrada has been under detention for six and a half years,
“Whereas, Joseph Ejercito Estrada has publicly committed to no longer seek any elective position or office,
“In view hereof and pursuant to the authority conferred upon me by the Constitution, I hereby grant executive clemency to Joseph Ejercito Estrada,convicted by the Sandiganbayan of plunder and imposed a penalty of reclusion perpetua. He is hereby restored to his civil and political rights.
“The forfeitures imposed by the Sandiganbayan remain in force and in full, including all writs and processes issued by the Sandiganbayan in
pursuance hereof, except for the bank account(s) he owned before his tenure as President.”
Following that same reasoning, then never should we see any prisoners age 70 and above. Rightfully indignant, Erap committed the biggest crime against the state and that is PLUNDER.
According to the Revised Penal Code :
Art. 36. Pardon; its effect. — A pardon shall not work the restoration of the right to hold public office, or the right of suffrage, unless such rights be expressly restored by the terms of the pardon.Erap the free man now restored to his full civil and political rights, is an awful truth, a history that would haunt us forever.
A pardon shall in no case exempt the culprit from the payment of the civil indemnity imposed upon him by the sentence.
Art. 41. Reclusion perpetua and reclusion temporal; Their accessory penalties. — The penalties of reclusion perpetua and reclusion temporal shall carry with them that of civil interdiction for life or during the period of the sentence as the case may be, and that of perpetual absolute disqualification which the offender shall suffer even though pardoned as to the principal penalty, unless the same shall have been expressly remitted in the pardon.
Agree or not, 2 weeks more and PINOYS would not even care.
----
But contrary to popular demand, I beg to not join those who call for Arroyo's resignation. The alternative to this administration as FVR puts it is ANARCHY, and nobody wants it (?). The constructive thing to do is to set sight of 2010, build a credible lineup of personalities that would bring our country not only economic wealth but instill patriotism, morality, and a sense of nationhood that after more than 100 years of independence we haven't really acquired nor enjoyed.
Side note. Kasi naman everytime I see or hear Oscar Cruz, Antonio Tobias, Nene Pimentel, Teofisto Guingona, Dinky Soliman point their accusing fingers and open their loudmouth, I lose interest to anything they are filibustering about. Sad bunch of old frustrated wannabes.
-----
And to everyone who have sold their souls to the devil just to hold on to that fleeting political clout, Hala, Mata lang ang walang latay sa takdang panahon!
----
In spite of all these, Yes, the Filipino people is still worth dying for! Somehow justice will be served and exacted to those who have deprived the others.
