Palace: Pardon For 9 Officers “Premature”

Palace: Pardon for 9 officers ‘premature’

But Puno to make recommendation

By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez, Thea Alberto
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 15:52:00 04/11/2008

MANILA, Philippines — Talk of a presidential pardon for the nine junior officers convicted for a failed uprising in 2003 is premature and should go through the legal process, a Malacañang official said Friday although a presidential adviser said he would make the recommendation.

“We live in a country of laws, and any appeal for a presidential pardon for a presidential clemency is still premature to talk about because no formal written request was ever submitted to the Office of the President,” Deputy Spokesman Anthony Golez said in a text message.

But Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s adviser for political affairs, said he would help the nine junior officers seek pardon since they have “recognized they made a mistake.”

The contrasting government statements were issued after the nine officers, in a press conference earlier in the day, said they would seek the President’s pardon and denied that they had struck a deal with the administration in exchange for a reversal of their not guilty plea to guilty for which they were meted up to 40 years in prison.

Golez said he believed that the military institution “has grown to a level of maturity where utmost professionalism is exercised.”

“Military adventurism is now thing of the past. The entire AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines] respects the Constitution, the rule of law, and the chain of command,” he added.

Puno said that “if there is expression of contrition on the part of these Magdalo soldiers, personally I am in favor of giving them pardon but of course that would be up to proper authorities of Department of Justice who will make the recommendations to the President,” said Puno in a press conference at Camp Crame Friday.

Magdalo is a band of rebel soldiers to which the nine officers and 21 of their peers, including then Navy Lieutenant and now Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, belonged.

“We are a compassionate society and we have a compassionate president…I think we have to recognize they can be constructive members of the society again,” said Puno, although noting that the soldiers would not get away that easy.

Puno said the soldiers, led by Army Captains Gerardo Gambala and Milo Maestrecampo, have suffered for five years in prison, their military careers destroyed.

“They have after all been in detention for some quite time already, it’s not like they got off without any punishment at all…there will obviously be other sanctions,” said Puno.

Puno also dismissed speculations the soldiers had a plea-bargaining agreement before they pleaded guilty.

“They had no hand in their own conviction. They’re in no position to make any such deal. Plea bargain is different and the admission did not result to lower sentence,” said Puno.

Puno had also recommended the granting of executive clemency to former president Joseph Estrada who had been convicted of the crime of plunder. Estrada has since been released.