Remorse

That was one half-baked apology from Bishop Antonio Tobias to former President Joseph Estrada the other day. You could see this in the frowns on some of the faces around Erap as they listened to the sermon of the Novaliches bishop.

"I hope you can forgive the Church for what happened to you," Tobias told Estrada during a Mass to mark the deposed president’s 69th birthday.

Tobias, however, told reporters later that the Roman Catholic Church still thought it did the right thing in joining the people power revolt that ousted Estrada in January 2001.

Tobias does not speak for the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, so you can’t really say he was apologizing on behalf of the Church.

But you can see from the faces in the crowd during the birthday Mass that he was not alone in feeling some remorse for the fate that has befallen Estrada, who won the presidency in 1998 by the largest margin ever in the nation’s history.

The most striking presence at the Mass was that of former vice president Teofisto Guingona Jr., who as a senator famously delivered a speech called "I accuse" that triggered the impeachment of President Estrada in late 2000.

Remorse for one’s role in EDSA Dos, pity for Estrada, regret for the installation of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in power — these are common sentiments these days.

Unfortunately for Erap, these sentiments are not enough to create a groundswell of public support for his return to Malacañang.

Even Tobias, in his sermon, urged Estrada, "in the name of Jesus of Nazareth," to "walk and move on" and stop dreaming of returning to power.

The sight of Erap alternating between ebullient defiance and teary-eyed dejection during his public appearances elicits conflicted emotions.

What does the nation intend to do with this man?

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Like the Marcoses who have not been convicted of any offense in connection with the abuses of the dictatorship, Estrada is another example of the weakness of the justice system in this country.

With all the witnesses who testified during Erap’s impeachment trial, plus the voluminous documents presented – never mind the contents of the controversial unopened envelope – you’d think his plunder trial would have proceeded quickly.

Instead it has progressed in the usual leisurely pace of the Philippine justice system.

Still immensely popular among the masses, Estrada has been in a kind of limbo since his arrest in late April 2001.

Held without bail for the capital offense of plunder, he is a privileged jailbird. He is under "resthouse arrest," raising mallards and flamingoes in his sprawling vacation home in Tanay, across the highway from the police camp where he is supposed to be detained under tight security.

He has been visited by the President and Vice President. He has a constant stream of visitors from all three branches of government. He chats with the press on his cell phone.

When he needed knee surgery, he got his wish to go to Hong Kong for treatment.

His son and co-accused Jinggoy Estrada, allowed to post bail, has won a seat in the Senate alongside former first lady Loi Ejercito.

Seeing all the perks enjoyed by Estrada, Moro National Liberation Front founding chairman Nur Misuari, held without bail for rebellion, has also asked to be placed under house arrest.

Misuari is counting on his good behavior under detention, including his calls on the MNLF to support the government’s peace efforts with the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front, to get VIP treatment like jailbird Erap.

All requests for special treatment need court approval. There is public suspicion, however, that Malacañang often influences court decisions and the criminal justice system is used for political purposes.

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There is also continuing speculation over the plans of the administration for Estrada, who has been linked to several destabilization efforts and who has made no secret of his willingness to return to power.

The administration believes Erap was among the financiers of the coup that was supposed to have been launched to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the people power revolt last February.

This plot is supposed to have several phases. The commotion at the Marine headquarters at Fort Bonifacio was unplanned. Part II was supposed to take place on March 31. A final push is supposed to be launched in the coming days, to coincide with the fifth anniversary of EDSA Tres.

Participants of EDSA I and II refuse to call the mass gathering that started in late April and culminated in riots on May 1, 2001 another people power revolt.

But EDSA Tres, with the Iglesia ni Cristo and El Shaddai providing the warm bodies, showed that people power is not the monopoly of civil society or any particular group.

People power fatigue set in following EDSA Tres, and was reinforced with every scandal that rocked the administration of the child of people power II, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

* * *

Now a bishop is even apologizing for the role of the Church in ousting a duly elected president.

That’s cold comfort for Erap, once one of the country’s most popular movie stars, a man who loves wine, women and song.

The speculation is that his plunder case will never be resolved as long as Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is in power, that whatever the verdict, it will be bad news for the administration.

Recently, however, administration officials have said that Erap could receive a presidential pardon. The statement assumes that he will be convicted, which makes Erap bristle; to this day he insists on his innocence.

On his 69th birthday, he said his main wish was simply to clear his name.

This, unfortunately, is one wish that this privileged detainee might not get any time soon.

It has been pointed out often enough that South Korea indicted, arrested, tried, convicted, imprisoned and pardoned two former presidents, both of whom had wielded dictatorial powers, in just two years. During their incarceration, the two former presidents were made to wear prison uniforms and appeared in public in handcuffs.

There was a strong message that crime does not pay and the rule of law must prevail in South Korea.

Five years after Erap’s arrest, we are no closer to the truth in the accusations hurled against him. There is no final word on whether an offense has been committed, and whether any punishment will fit the crime.

You feel sorry for Joseph Estrada – and the nation.