Hultmans on Teehankee's release: The highest injustice

MANILA, Philippines – Anders and Vivian Hultman yesterday said President Arroyo committed “the highest form of injustice” when she granted executive clemency to Claudio Teehankee Jr., the convicted killer of their daughter Maureen and her friend Roland Chapman.

This, even as the brother of the pardoned convict claimed that the Hultman family gave their imprimatur for the release when they “agreed” in a “court-approved and filed settlement” in November 1999.

The Hultman couple decried the release of Teehankee from the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) in Muntinlupa City immediately after Mrs. Arroyo issued the executive clemency.

The Hultmans said the news about the release of Teehankee reached them while they were in Stockholm, Sweden from where they were interviewed by GMA 7 via long distance phone patch yesterday.

“We got the news that our child’s murderer is out of jail and then they called a news conference where they claimed that we would not object, that they have informed us and that we didn’t object when we got the settlement. What are they trying to do?” a very indignant-sounding Mrs. Hultman said.

“They think the Filipino people are too stupid. They want the Filipino people to listen to whatever garbage they throw out,” she deplored.

Asked what message she would tell Teehankee, Mrs. Hultman replied: “I have no message for him but for the people who facilitated his release. I hope they can sleep at night because this is a disgrace to the Filipino nation. This is the highest form of injustice in the country. And I am really, really ashamed and sad to be a Filipino today.”

Mr. Hultman, on the other hand, said they are “shocked, surprised and angry” after they learned of the release.

The couple strongly took exception to statements made the other day by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita that they were informed beforehand about the President’s grant of executive clemency to Teehankee before it came out in the media.

“That’s a complete lie. We have not been advised about anything. We know that the (Teehankee) family has appealed for his release but that has no legal bearing in terms of releasing him without telling us that the government was considering (to do) so. The Executive Secretary, again, I’m sorry to say this, was lying to the public,” Mr. Hultman said, mincing no words in insinuating that the release of Teehankee had been made possible through “corruption” in the government.

“I’m sorry to say it’s corruption and from the highest level,” Mr. Hultman told GMA-7 radio station dzBB.

Settlement or damages?

In particular, Mrs. Hultman clarified that the cash given to them as “settlement” by Teehankee supposedly included an agreement on their part that they would not pose any objection to the possible grant later on of a pardon or commutation of sentence.

“We got a settlement. But it was the court that ordered him (Teehankee) to pay the damage. He got a bargain because he did not have to pay the Chapmans and the Leinos,” Mrs. Hultman pointed out, referring to the other victims in the case.

The settlement involved the transfer of the rights and interests over Teehankee’s house and lot located at Barangay Capitolyo in Rizal “in consideration of P6,964,504.40 as full and complete payment of Claudio Teehankee Jr.’s civil obligation to the Hultmans.”

Efforts were also made to contact the relatives of the other victim, Roland John Chapman, regarding the settlement.

Teehankee offered the payment of P650,000 by way of a promissory note to the Chapmans but the efforts made through the United States Department of Justice to contact the family for their approval proved futile.

‘No injustice’

However, Ambassador Manuel Teehankee, Philippine Representative to the World Trade Organization (WTO), in a separate phone patch interview, defended the release of his elder brother Claudio Jr. from allegations that the executive clemency showcased the government’s bias on inmates who belong to rich and prominent families.

In an interview over QTV’s Balitanghali, Manuel maintained there was no injustice in his brother’s release because President Arroyo carefully studied it.

Prior to his present post in Geneva, Switzerland where he is currently based, Manuel used to be undersecretary at the Department of Justice (DOJ).

DOJ Secretary Raul Gonzalez earlier revealed that his former deputy followed up the request of his brother for the grant of executive clemency.

“My involvement (is only) related to the settlement document (which) pre-dates my government service,” he said, pointing out that the notice was already given to the public, courtesy of a newspaper advertisement in The STAR on Feb. 6, 2004, or more than four years ago.

The Teehankee family, led by the former chief justice’s widow Pilar, also issued a statement, a copy of which was obtained by The STAR, that Claudio Jr. “has also already entered into a financial settlement of the civil aspect of the case with the Hultman family in a settlement that was reached in November of 1999.”

Manuel added that Claudio Jr. had been “rehabilitated and reformed” after serving his term at the NBP and that he should be given a chance to show he can be a “productive member of society.”

The younger Teehankee also took exception to accusations that their family’s “influence” or close connection with the Arroyo administration because of their late father former Chief Justice Claudio Teehankee Sr., paved the way for the executive clemency.

“Our late father had been known as a strong advocate for the rule of law. We all stand behind the rule of law and my brother has paid his dues,” he stressed.

Palace: Nothing irregular

As far as Malacañang is concerned, however, the law was followed to the letter in the grant of executive clemency and that President Arroyo has no reason to explain herself to the families of the victims or to anyone else.

After hearing the statements issued by Hultman as well as the criticisms coming from some legislators, civil society groups and even Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio, who led the team that handled the case against Teehankee, Ermita presented several documents showing that there was nothing irregular about the decision of the President.

“Just like what Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez stated the other day, a thorough review was conducted on the case of Teehankee and the application for clemency was processed in accordance with the procedures and the application had already been denied in prior proceedings,” he said.

Ermita reiterated that the Hultmans were consulted and this was evidenced in the court-approved and filed settlement agreement on the civil aspect of the case that was signed by all the concerned parties on Nov. 12, 1999.

In the same document, which was signed by Anders Hultman assisted by lawyer Rogelio Vinluan of the Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz law firm, the Hultmans “recognize that Claudio Jr. has shown and exhibited genuine remorse and has been serving his time in good behavior.”

“The Hultmans, through their duly authorized representative herein, will not object nor interpose any opposition to the application for such parole or the commutation or shortening of the sentence of Claudio Teehankee Jr. or to such other similar proceedings or reliefs provided that the same shall be in accordance of law,” part of the agreement reads.

Ermita said the decision of the Hultmans to agree to the settlement and the provision on the application for parole and commutation of sentence of Teehankee clearly showed that the victim’s family had no problem with the possibility of the convict being granted pardon by the President.

On Feb. 6, 2004, as required by law, the Board of Pardons and Parole published a notice to the public of the names of 16 prisoners, including Teehankee, who would be reviewed for the purpose of considering them for parole/executive clemency.

The notice, which was published in The Philippine STAR, indicated that any interested party may send written objections, comments or information relevant to the cases of these prisoners to the BPP not later than 30 days from date of the publication.

Mr. Hultman, however, claimed that no such notice was given to them about this, something that was supported by Villa-Ignacio.

“I don’t see how they could have missed the notices. This is a big law office. It’s ACCRA. I’m very sure they (Hultmans) were made aware of this,” Ermita said.

Claudio Jr., namesake son of the late SC chief justice, was convicted in 1995 for the murder of Chapman and Hultman and causing gunshot injury to Jussi Leino.

Teehankee was sentenced to one count of reclusion perpetua and two counts of prision mayor to reclusion temporal, which carry a jail term of 20 to 40 years and 12 to 20 years, respectively.

The ties that bind

But despite denials that Teehankee was given special treatment by the President, critics of the administration continue to suspect that the decision was influenced by factors outside of what was stated in the records.

The President is a charter member of the Teehankee Foundation and was even given the Rule of Law award by the Foundation in April 2001.

“I must also greet of course the members of the Teehankee family, not only Dondi, but Tita Pilar and my classmate Pricy. That’s the reason why I became a charter member of the Teehankee Foundation because of Pricy and now with Chief Justice (Hilario Davide) and I receiving this award, I couldn’t help but whisper to Fr. Bernas, what a hometown decision,” the President said in her speech during the awarding.

Pricy is Priscilla Teehankee-Gamboa, the sister of Claudio Jr., who was once appointed by the President as head of the Eco-Waste Management Office of the Office of the President.

‘Double standard’

Meanwhile, administration Sen. Joker Arroyo reminded the public about the similarities in the presidential pardons given to former President Joseph Estrada and Teehankee.

“I am baffled why a howl of protest is being raised now in the case of Teehankee when he already served 20 years of his prison sentence and had indemnified the family of his victims as ordered by the court,” he said.

“When President Estrada was convicted of plunder and sentenced to life imprisonment, President Arroyo immediately extended to him an absolute pardon, without going through the review process by the Board of Pardons and Parole. There was nary a sign of protest. Strangely, the very same people who are complaining about the Teehankee release were eerily silent when Erap was pardoned,” he said.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson, however, said that while the law grants full prerogative to a president to grant clemency to convicts, there is a need for a remedy for the aggrieved parties.

“If you are well-connected or rich or influential, you can have a better shot at pardon. But if you’re a beggar who was thrown in jail because of poverty, you’ll rot inside the national penitentiary,” Lacson said. 

Sen. Manuel Roxas, on the other hand, vowed to scrutinize the proposed budget of the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in upcoming Senate hearings, saying the untimely pardon given to Teehankee again highlighted the government’s insensitivity to the plight of the poor.

He said Congress and Malacañang should also raise the salaries of jail personnel and officials of the BJMP to prevent unscrupulous deals that rich convicts use to get out of jail early.

Roxas added that the justice system would be better served if the Supreme Court would require continuous trials for all cases instead of the current system wherein lawyers for both prosecution and defense get to postpone hearings on technical reasons. – With GMANews.TV, Delon Porcalla, Marvin Sy, Christina Mendez, Evelyn Macairan, Rhodina Villanueva