"(Of the 1,280), maybe the 280 longest-serving, longest-staying inmates on death row will be commuted to life imprisonment," said the President, who could again face the wrath of anti-crime groups and other advocates of the death penalty.
Crisologo Seletaria, an ailing elderly inmate in his 80s, let the tears flow after getting his release papers from the President herself during a visit to the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) in Muntinlupa City.
So did Francisco Aquino, another elderly prisoner, as both of them were comforted by Mrs. Arroyo.
Thirty-five other elderly inmates were handed over their release papers after the President last week granted them conditional pardon as part of the administration’s program to decongest and eventually privatize the penal institution.
There have been no executions of death convicts since Mrs. Arroyo assumed office in 2001.
A devout Catholic, the President is known to be personally against the capital punishment and thus refuses to carry out the death penalty law.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita denied the move to commute the sentence of 280 death convicts was meant to appease the Catholic Church, whose leaders have been issuing criticisms of the administration.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez also explained it was the President’s prerogative to grant commutations and pardons to prisoners.
The President said if the inmates, particularly the elderly, would no longer become a menace to society, then they could already be released for humanitarian reasons and to decongest the prisons.
"Because the more congested the prisons are, the less conducive to rehabilitation," she said.
In a simple ceremony at the NBP, the President approved the release of inmates, aged 70-80.
"Happy Valentine’s to all of you! We are doing this to decongest the prison and for humanitarian reasons," Mrs. Arroyo told the elderly inmates as she congratulated them.
According to Ermita, Mrs. Arroyo is set to grant executive clemency to eight more NBP prisoners.
They are Carlos Alcallaga Perez, Edgardo Calinagan, Manuel Cortez Centeno, Ludovico Franciso Rala, Florencio Gasacao Omalza, Aiza Karim Abdul, Araceli Najera Doria, and Glorio Roda Roxas.
Apart from Seletaria and Aquino, those who were earlier conferred executive clemency and given their release papers yesterday were Federico Consolacion and Teopano Lope, both 80 years old. Also released were Emeterio Ferreroa, Sancho Manliguez, Anatalio Molina, Juan Peñarobia, Benjamin Razonable, Felicisimo Solayao — all 71 years old.
Others were Domingo Bautista, Adolfo Belga, Silvestre De Baguio, Sofronio Esmania, , Crispin Florendo, Laurentino Fortuno, Francisco Gunabe, Gaudencio Ignacio, Feliciano Lacaocao, Sergio Lagnason, Geronimo Laguatan, Benjamin Lim, Teopano Lope, Julian Magtagad, Romulo Maldos, Mariano Martinez, Elmero Mesa Jr., Onofre Nuñez, Apolinario Ormido, Paulino Orot;
Martiniano Pillarda, Pedro Reyes, Rafael Salalima, Hanibal Silverio, Cornelio Tabaldo, Pablo Ventura, Pedro Villamor and Sixto Viñas Sr.
The inmates expressed their gratitude to the President for the chance to be reunited with their families in their twilight years.
NBP Supt. Juanito Leopando said Malacañang, in consideration of the prisoners’ old age and physical handicap, decided to grant them executive clemency.
"They will be released and from thereon will be considered free men on the condition that they will not commit any crime or will not figure in any criminal or civil case in court," Leopando said.
If they again engage in criminal activity and are charged, Leopando said it would be highly likely that they return to prison.
He noted that several of those granted clemency had been charged with rape.
Asked if the government was ready for criticism over the President’s decision to commute some death sentences, the DOJ chief said: "You can never please everybody."
"People also object to the death penalty so where does the President go? If she commutes, she will also be attacked, if she does not commute she will be attacked," Gonzalez said.
"It is her policy, it is her call. I merely implement her call," Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez said this was in keeping with the universal trend of abolishing the death penalty.
"But this is not a sweeping thing, that’s why she said 280 depending on the length of stay that they had already spent in prison," Gonzalez said.
He added the Board of Pardons and Parole would still have to determine the parameters for commutation.
He said he instructed the BPP to start preparing the documentation for the death row inmates.
Gonzalez refused to say whether it would simply be better to repeal the death penalty law if it would never be imposed anyway.
"You will still be sentenced to death (for certain crimes) because that is the law," Gonzalez said. — Rhodina Villanueva