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THE
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)
assailed on Thursday Malacañang’s decision to commute
the jail sentence of convicted rapist Romeo Jalosjos, a
former congressman.
Rodolfo
Diamante, executive director of the CBCP Episcopal
Commission on Prison Pastoral Care (ECPPC), also said
that the bishops suspect politics is behind President
Arroyo’s decision, as he hit the administration’s
alleged “double standard” in favor of its political
allies.
In a
statement, Diamante said: “Obviously, it’s political,
because how come Jalosjos was given that privilege and
denied the others who are more deserving.”
Diamante
said that the commutation of sentence may have been
Jalosjos’s reward for his family’s support for the
administration’s Team Unity during the May 14 elections.
Presidential power, Diamante said, should be used to be
able to give justice to the people regardless of their
position in society.
Referring to Jalosjos, Diamante said, President Arroyo’s
decision was a “big blow” to the country’s justice
system.
“It
shows that as long as you have the power and influence
you’re given privilege and the justice system has always
been criticized as tilted in favor of the rich and
powerful,” he said, adding that there is something wrong
as “she exercises the executive privilege only to those
who are giving benefits to the administration.”
He
emphasized that there are more deserving prisoners, sick
and much older than Jalosjos, who should be granted with
such privilege, but the government has not been acting
on their pleas for clemency.
“We
would appreciate it very much if the President will look
into the cases of these more deserving people,” he said.
Jalosjos,
66, was convicted in 1996 for raping an 11-year-old girl
and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was also meted
out an additional 15 years for each of the six counts of
acts of lasciviousness filed against him. He has so far
served 13 years in jail.
Diamante
noted that Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said
Jalosjos was among the 10 convicts whose sentences were
reduced by President Arroyo upon the recommendation of
the Board of Pardon and Parole, and approved by the
Department of Justice on April 30.
Ermita
claimed Jalosjos deserves to have his sentence be
commuted because he is already old and sickly.
Press
Secretary Ignacio Bunye, on the other hand, said there
was nothing irregular in granting Jalosjos a commutation
of sentence since this has also been done for several
other convicts.
For his
part, the ECPPC chairman, Bishop Pedro Arigo of the
Diocese of Puerto Princesa, found Bunye’s statement
“surprising” and “so shallow.”
Arigo
said commutation of sentences may decongest jails but
this should depend on the convict’s attitudes toward
reformation.
He did
not say if Jalosjos has shown remorse. |
