they set him free.

i was at large, disappointed.

executive clemency once became an important issue in my life. not because i was ever convicted but because during my thesis days, all of which was spent inside the Correctional Institution for Women, most inmates have hopes that at some point, the president might have some of her precious time taking a glance at their case and granting them pardon. this is one of their very few hopes, the other being able to get a good lawyer to help them get a parole, or a media coverage to get the authorities' attention which really isn't easy.

but then erap, a former president guilty of plunder, plunder for heaven's sake. witnesses risked their lives during the impeachment trial, and people went out to edsa to oust him. and he was convicted and now granted pardon.

i may not be in favor of his pardon, but i may not in favor of the one who granted it as well.

i feel bad (and this is the understatement of the year) for those inmates who have shared their lives with me. them, whose guilty of murder because they were abused or that's the only option that they have to defend themselves and their loved ones. them, who were betrayed and deceived by people without conscience and we cannot blame them either because of their lack of knowledge of such things. them, who are rotten inside the institution despite their old age, whose families have left over the years. them, whose merits are better than erap's, whose crimes are less graver than his. them, who are ordinary citizens and whose cases remain in paper without a public lawyer to process them.

even those inmates whose terms have already been served remains inside the jail. why? because necessary signatures of authorities concerned take years to be written. and here we are, granting pardon to a man who betrayed not only a single soul, but the entire nation, who had the choice between what is right or wrong.

my point is that if gma thinks erap deserves to be granted pardon, she should, first and foremost, consider other "more deserving" inmates. am i convinced gma granted erap pardon out of her good will and conscience? no i am not. with the bribery and the recent scandals of her government, everything remains a lie unless proven true.