Malacañang: No Christmas parole for NBP celebrities

It may be another blue Christmas behind bars for celebrities convicted of murder and other high-profile crimes as their appeals for the grant of Christmas parole have not been endorsed for approval by Malacañang.

Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo told Palace reporters that the Office of the President has not yet received any endorsement from the Department of Justice-Board of Pardons and Parole (DOJ-BPP) for the grant of parole for anyone of the famous convicts.

Two high-profile inmates at the National Bilibid Prisons (NBP) in Muntinlupa, however, have been recommended for executive clemency by the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).

Ambet Antonio, who is serving a 14-year sentence for the murder of former basketball star Arnulfo Tuadles at the Club 419 in Greenhills, San Juan on Nov. 2, 1996, has been recommended for conditional pardon.

Meanwhile, Norberto Manero, who was behind bars for the gruesome murder of Italian priest Father Tullio Favali in North Cotabato, was once again recommended for release.

The controversial priest killer had already been granted executive clemency by deposed President Joseph Estrada in 1999 but public uproar over the decision prompted Estrada to recall the order.

The DOJ-BPP will, however, still assess the names submitted by BuCor and endorse the final list to the President.

Two other celebrity convicts — Rolito Go and former Calauan, Laguna Mayor Antonio Sanchez — have also appealed for the grant of parole this year. However, their names were not on the list endorsed by BuCor to the Palace.

Go is behind bars for killing La Salle engineering graduate Eldon Maguan over a traffic altercation on Nov. 1, 1991 while Sanchez was convicted for the rape and murder of UP Los Baños coed Eileen Sarmenta and her friend Allan Gomez in June 1991.

Romulo assured jail convicts at the NBP and other state detentions that the grant of executive clemency will still push through this year and recommendations are now being processed by the Office of the Executive Secretary, which conducts the review of individual cases.

In a telephone interview with The STAR, BuCor director Ricardo Macala explained that Antonio is already qualified for parole after having spent seven years at the NBP, and his recommendation for executive clemency has "no political color" whatsoever.

He said that under the law, convicted criminals who have served one half of their minimum penalty or one third of their maximum penalty are entitled to be recommended for executive clemency.

Antonio was originally sentenced to life imprisonment but the Supreme Court later downgraded the charge to homicide, reducing his sentence to 10 to 14 years in prison.

"We don’t treat Antonio as a VIP at the penitentiary, as the press thinks we do," Macala said. "His name was included in the list because under the law he is qualified for parole."

Macala also explained that executive clemency, which only the President can grant and is traditionally given en masse during the Christmas season, includes absolute or conditional pardon as well as commutation of one’s sentence.

A more stringent Palace review, however, is being implemented since the furor created by Manero’s release three years ago.

The names of those recommended for parole are now required to be published in national dailies to alert families and relatives of their victims and other parties to register their objections, if any.