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DAVAO CITY—Senate
President Manny Villar Jr. said that only when former
President Joseph Estrada has been released from prison
could the nation attain closure of its recent troubled
political chapter.
“It is
important that we close this chapter on Estrada so that
we can move forward,” Villar said. “The finale to
closing that chapter is to release him from prison, and
not a [guilty] verdict.”
He
declined to talk on the details of the case, saying he
would not venture into the realm of the courts. “There
are ways to approach that suggestion to have Estrada
released,” he said “but only if these proposals are
acceptable to him.”
Villar
said that the proposal to granting either an amnesty or
a pardon would depend on whether or not Estrada would
file a motion for reconsideration with the Sandiganbayan
or an appeal with the Supreme Court.
“What I
want to point out is that Estrada has been detained for
six-and- one-half years already, and it is time for him
to be released and for the country to move forward.”
He said
that politicians close to or have known the former
President have already discussed the possibility of
allowing Estrada to avail of the amnesty. “A pardon is
for one person, but it requires the admission of guilt,
while an amnesty is for all persons similarly situated
but without admission of guilt.”
He said
that amnesty appeared to be more acceptable than a
presidential pardon “to avoid forcing Estrada to admit
wrongdoing.”
Meanwhile, granting amnesty or pardon to Estrada could
trigger appeals for the same clemency from hundreds of
persons convicted of lesser offenses by the
Sandiganbayan, a lawmaker said Tuesday.
“This
will put the government in a bind. If Erap walks, then
it will open the floodgates of appeals from prisoners
demanding the same treatment,” said Nationalist People’s
Coalition Rep. Abraham Mitra of Palawan.
If this
happens, Mitra said the government will have no choice
but to apply “the same benchmark of compassion” it may
use on Estrada on felons who are in the same situation
as the former President. (With X.J. Acosta) |
