ManilaMailDC.Net - GMA Preparing RP For Erap Guilty Verdict?

Mysterious ads in mass media.

MANILA - Is the Arroyo government preparing the people to accept a guilty verdict for former President Joseph "Erap" Estrada?

This suspicion arose early this month after a group calling itself “Mahal Kita Pilipinas” published full-page advertisements in several newspapers urging the public to respect whatever decision the Sandiganbayan makes on the plunder case against Estrada has sparked fears of a guilty verdict among his millions of followers.

Estrada’s camp believes the advertisement, which appeared in all local broadsheets recently, is a form of “mind conditioning” by the Arroyo administration to accept the verdict.

The ad appealed to the public to “let the rule of law prevail.” But Estrada, under house arrest in Tanay, said a guilty verdict “is not the rule of law, but the rule of Malacanang."

He said the Arroyo administration was ‘covering up" for the pent-up public outrage over allegations of massive cheating in the May 14 polls. “My conviction comes from Malacanang and not on the merits of the case,” an enraged Estrada said in an interview with the Star. He said Malacanang was behind the full-page advertisement whose message, based on the wording, “already convicted” him of plunder. Estrada said he found the ad’s message that “the Court has spoken” and that “due process has been observed” as highly suspicious. He said the declaration in the ad that “justice has been served” was also a giveaway.

“So that means there is already a decision (to convict me),” Estrada fumed.
“They (Palace) are already conditioning the minds of our people,” Estrada pointed out.
An ad sent to the Tribune, which is known as an opposition paper and funded by Erap, was rejected by the editors because it was headlined: “Kung Guilty si Erap, kailangan bang may gulo?” (If Erap is guilty, is there need for violence?)

The editors said the text was different from the ads that appeared in the other national broadsheets.
The Tribune said the ads appeared after Malacanang officials issued statements about the possibility of extending clemency to the former President if he is found guilty, or that the Arroyo government can survive if a guilty verdict is issued. The Tribune said Presidential Legal Counsel Sergio Apostol earlier sounded off as though the conviction was a done deal. “He was quoted as saying that the Palace is ‘open’ to extending Estrada ”executive clemency" after his conviction," the Tribune said.

It added: “Mrs. Arroyo’s chief aide, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita at the same time bragged that the Arroyo government will definitely survive any form of destabilization even if the Sandiganbayan Special Division Court acquits Estrada in his plunder case."
"In his weekly press briefing, Ermita stressed that the foundation of Mrs. Arroyo’s power, then a vice president, was due to her taking over the presidency of Estrada after his ouster in January 2001 through a people power revolt. Ermita pointed out that Mrs. Arroyo’s government remains strong and that no amount of destabilization moves would succeed to cut her remaining three years term in office.

“Even if the Sandiganbayan court ruled that President Estrada is not guilty of plunder charges, this would definitely not affect this government. This administration will survive even if a guilty verdict is handed down,’ Ermita stressed, adding that the Arroyo government already has a contingency plan whatever the Sandiganbayan ruling would be.

Estrada said he met with his defense lawyers, former Supreme Court chief justice Andres Narvasa and former senator Rene Saguisag, who assured him that an acquittal is very likely and that a conviction is the ‘worst-case scenario." “I strongly believe the truth shall set me free,” Estrada stressed. The 70-year-old former president stressed that in his quest to clear his name, he would never allow the country to fall into another political quagmire.

He said that it was his respect for the rule of law that convinced him to trust the legal process and decline the administration’s offer for him to leave the country. Estrada has been detained for six years. “I’m just raising ducks here," Estrada quipped. His spokesman, Ferdie Ramos, said only the government, with its vast resources, could afford to pay for the ads. “These cost about P190,000 per ad," he said. “We see the hand of Malacanang.”

He said the the Mahal Kita Pilipinas, might just be a phony group. Estrada’s son, San Juan City Mayor Joseph Victor JV Ejercito, and other opposition leaders also expressed belief that Malacanang was behind the ad. Ejercito told reporters at the weekly Fernandina Forum that his father is innocent and decried attempts by the government “to simply try to condition the minds of the ordinary Filipino that President Estrada would be convicted."

“Whatever will be the outcome of the trial of President Erap, one thing is for sure, that the Filipino people still trust and love him," Ejercito said. “With the continuing misgovernance of the Arroyo regime, all the more he is being vindicated. “History will be the judge whether this political trial was correct or not. I am very confident that history will be kind to President Erap, in the same way the Filipino people have shown him their affection until this time.” Adel Tamano, spokesperson for the Genuine Opposition (GO), said the ad “is a thinly-veiled attempt at conditioning the public to accept an Erap conviction." “Clearly, the object of the ad is to prepare the public for a conviction because the acquittal of President Estrada will obviously not provoke mass actions and public demonstrations, which the ad conveniently terms as ‘destabilization."

He said the ad was suspicious because the supposed advertiser was of doubtful origin. “While we respect the right of different groups to take a strong position in regard the plunder case against President Estrada, indeed even to clamor for his conviction, a spirit of transparency dictates that these parties speak plainly and reveal themselves," he said. “Furthermore, they should respect the right of others, in case of a conviction, to peacefully and lawfully convey their disagreement to the verdict pursuant to the people’s right of freedom of expression," Tamano added.

Former Commission on Elections chairman Christian Monsod said the people are unlikely to resort to violence unreasonably in the event of a guilty verdict. He said Estrada supporters stormed Malaca±ang in 2001 because the government did not properly handle Estrada’s arrest. Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. also believes the government was behind the ad in an effort to stave off an adverse backlash from a guilty Sandiganbayan verdict.

Malacanang denied that it was responsible for the ads and urged the public to just wait for the Sandiganbayan decision. “I think it’s not proper for us to say whether indeed there is an effort of mind conditioning," Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said. Asked if Estrada would be given executive clemency if found guilty, Ermita said that it would be difficult to speculate on what President Arroyo would do since she is the only one with the power under the Constitution to do this.

“We do not want to preempt the President. So it’s very difficult for me to say whatever it is that you think the President might be disposed to do," he said. Ermita reiterated that Malaca±ang would respect the decision of the judiciary as a co-equal branch of government. He added that Mr. Estrada, as a former president, should also be accorded due respect.