IT might be sheer coincidence, it may be because being we are known to be a very forgiving race, especially since Christmas is only a few days away.
For the past couple of weeks, freedom seems to be the operative word in the judicial system, and like a proverbial Christmas baratillo, there seems to be a wholesale of jailbirds being released lately.
First was the acquittal of Hubert Webb and his co-accused on December 14, who were convicted 15 years ago after being embroiled in the heinous deaths of Lauro Vizconde’s family members.
Second was the release of “Morong 43” – a group of health workers who were detained in Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan for alleged membership in the New People’s Army. The release order came from the regional and municipal trial courts who dismissed the charges on December 17. Earlier, charges on illegal possession of firearms and explosives and violation of the election gun ban were withdrawn by the Department of Justice, under the behest of President Aquino.
Now, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV roams free after seven years of being in prison. The court granted him provisional liberty on December 20 and ordered his release from detention at the Camp Crame Custodial Center. He was released specifically under the custody of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.
Trillanes thanked Pres. Aquino for “making the amnesty possible.”
According to Trillanes’ lawyer, Rey Robles, they filed a petition for provisional release on December 14, based on the amnesty proclamation given by Pres. Aquino. Makati Regional Trial Court Judge Oscar Pimentel granted the request for provisional liberty and Robles thinks that “the judge might have found it approrpiate to issue the release because of the amnesty and the fact that he (Trillanes) is an elected senator.”
Meanwhile, retired Major Gen. Carlos Garcia was mysteriously allowed to walk out of jail despite strong evidence accusing him of plunder. According to reports, Garcia was allowed to leave after posting a P60,000 bail.
According to Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte, plea bargain negotiations between Garcia and his prosecutors, which resulted in the posting of a bail and his inevitable freedom, occurred before Pres. Aquino assumed the presidency on June 30.
“There’s something suspicious. There’s something strange here,” Valte said in a phone interview with Inquirer.net.
The former military comptroller was in detention for six years, accused of amassing more than P300 million in ill-gotten assets, but was allowed to leave his Camp Crame cell, Inquirer.net reported.
“Garcia was allowed to go after the Sandiganbayan approved a plea bargain agreement under which he pleaded guilty to the lesser charges of direct bribery and money laundering,” the report further stated.
Under the deal, Garcia agreed to return a portion of the P303.27 million which he stole, in exchange for the dropping of plunder charges against him — a crime which is supposedly non-bailable and punishable by life imprisonment.
Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez finds herself in hot water once more. According to Valte, “a plea bargain implies you don’t have enough evidence (against Garcia),” and that Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez “should be accountable to the people” as to why such a deal was made.
Shady or not, deserving or otherwise, these releases prove one thing – the Philippines, as a predominantly Catholic nation, is still lenient in so many ways. The Christmas season is enough to bring acts of compassion, regardless of whether they were done through honest or questionable means.
But in order for us to walk the straight path, it is mandatory for justice to prevail — we should exhaust all means possible to ensure that no crime goes unpunished and that violators are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Midweek Dec 22-24, 2010 Sec A p.6)
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