EDITORIAL - Swift, hasty pardon

The speed and haste with which the Erap pardon was granted by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo truly show that justice is swift in this country, swift for those who are powerful, influential and rich.

It cannot be denied that while the family and supporters of former President Joseph Estrada are happy, no ecstatic, about the executive clemency given to him by President Arroyo, there are sectors of society which are not at all happy and are even disgusted about how fast the pardon was granted to the former President.

Everyone expected Erap to be pardoned. This was offered to him the moment he was convicted. What everyone did not expect was the expeditious way it was given to him. And this is what makes people feel bad about the whole thing.

The team of government lawyers who prosecuted Erap for six years, for example, had all the right to feel bad about what some Senators call the "lightning" pardon granted to Erap. Who wouldn't feel bad when the years of extensive work on prosecuting one of the most controversial leaders in the country just went to waste within just a few days? The government prosecutors may have won the case when the Sandiganbayan convicted the former President for plunder but the victory now means nothing because the convicted has become a free man, thanks to the very same government that these prosecutors are working for.

The many prisoners who have long qualified for pardon but are still languishing in crowded jails in the country also have the right to feel bad about Erap's speedy pardon. Who wouldn't feel bad when they could have gotten out of jail a long time ago, if only they used to be president of the country or have an Estrada surname, or at least have money to pay when their cases get stuck in bureaucratic red tape.

Prisoners, too, who have been jailed for petty theft, have all the right to feel bad about Erap's hasty pardon. Who wouldn't feel bad when Erap was convicted of plunder, of amassing ill-gotten wealth, which is surely a graver offense compared to say, cellphone snatching. Now Erap is a free man, while they are still in jail.

Everyone in society has the right to feel bad about President Arroyo's decision to grant Erap a very hasty pardon. But the sad reality is we cannot do anything about it. This is how life goes in the Philippines. Justice is swift for those who are powerful and influential. The rich and the powerful go scot-free no matter how wicked or how corrupt they are because they have the power to control people. The poor and the ordinary, meanwhile, suffer because they have no influence over the people who call the shots.