He has a point — but there are people who won’t like hearing it.
In a press conference in Davao City on Mon night, May 23, incoming President Rodrigo Duterte addressed several issues, among them the situation of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Duterte was quoted as saying, “I’m ready to grant pardon to Arroyo.”
“The former President, who has been reelected Pampanga second district representative, has been on trial since 2012 for a plunder case over the alleged misuse of PHP365 million in confidential Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) funds.
“The plunder case is the only one keeping Arroyo in hospital arrest. She has been detained at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) in Quezon City since 2011, as she has also suffered complications after a cervical spine surgery,” recalled an ABS-CBN News report.
Duterte explained his stand on Arroyo’s case, “Si Arroyo to my mind should also be released kasi ‘yung lahat na-demanda in connection with the sweepstakes expenditure ng intelligence fund nasa labas na. Si Arroyo lang ang hanggang nandiyan (In my mind, Arroyo should be released because the other people who were charged in connection with the PCSO intelligence fund issue are alredy free. She’s the only one who is in detention).”
In fact, Duterte revealed that he has already offered to pardon Arroyo before. He related, “Ayaw n’ya (She didn’t want it). I offered, ‘When I become president, I will pardon you.’ I talked to her, sabi ko (I said), ‘Ma’am, gusto mo i-pardon kita (do you want me to grant you pardon)? Not because we’re friends, but because I do not think that there is a good case against you as a prosecutor, as a lawyer.”
Arroyo had reportedly said that she didn’t want to be pardoned because that would mean that she has to admit to the crime first.
“She’s been detained for so long, the trial delayed. Under the constitution, talagang ground for dismissal yan (that’s really ground for dismissal), with prejudice,” Duterte added.
