NOYNOY: ERAP PARDON, NINOY'S KILLERS WRONG; PALACE: CASES ALL ANSWERED
MANILA, MARCH 17, 2010 (STAR) Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III said yesterday it was wrong for President Arroyo to have pardoned former President Joseph Estrada and soldiers convicted of conspiracy in the killing of his father, Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr.Aquino and his running mate Sen. Manuel Roxas II also denied trouble in their partnership, saying they were united and helping other candidates.
Some people in his camp were reportedly backing Estrada’s running mate, Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay, while others were pushing for a team-up between Roxas and Nacionalista Party presidential bet Sen. Manuel Villar Jr.
Aquino said he was personally close to Estrada and Binay, but stressed justice should not be sacrificed for friendship.
“It is a known fact that I was part of the impeachment (against Estrada) and I talked to him about that. On the pardon aspect, the fundamental principle is those who commit mistakes must have a corresponding punishment. And once the punishment is not served, nothing will happen to us,” he said.
He said the problem in the country was that cases were not resolved, especially the ones involving the allies of Mrs. Arroyo.
Aquino also opposed pardon for the soldiers convicted of conspiracy in his father’s murder in 1983.
He also explained that he voted against the playing of the “Hello, Garci” tapes when he was still congressman because these were taken illegally.
“The bottom line is there is a legal premise called the fruit of the poison tree. That means that any evidence taken illegally cannot be used in judicial proceedings.”
The “Hello, Garci” wiretaps, which were recorded by military intelligence agents, allegedly contained conversations of the President with poll commissioner Virgilio Garcillano over an alleged plot to rig the 2004 elections.
He said he talked to several lawyers before deciding on his stand on the “Hello, Garci” issue.
“If the tapes were played, there would be compounding or aggravating circumstances and the evidence would not have been used,” he said.
All cases already answered
Meanwhile, as far as Malacañang is concerned, all the controversies that have been raised against the Arroyo administration have already been heard and answered adequately at appropriate venues.
Reacting to a statement by Aquino that once elected president he would create a commission to investigate the controversies of the Arroyo administration, deputy presidential spokespman Gary Olivar said Aquino is entitled to do whatever he wants if and when he succeeds in his bid for the presidency.
“Obviously if Senator Aquino wins the elections, then he is perfectly entitled to put together whatever kind of agenda he believes is appropriate for the country,” Olivar said.
He said it would be Aquino’s prerogative to do what he thinks should be prioritized in his first 100 days in office, including investigating the alleged controversies of the Arroyo administration as he vowed to do.
However, Olivar noted that the administration has answered all the allegations thrown its way, including the NBN-ZTE deal, the fertilizer fund scam and the “Hello, Garci” controversy. But he admitted this would not prevent the opposition from opening up these issues again.
“If people disagree then they also have venues to seek redress or to appeal. If they now want to use the electoral process to take still another try at these issues from the past, then that is their prerogative and only the voters can stop them, unless the voters agree with that kind of agenda.”
He said such pronouncements from candidates in this May’s elections should also be used by voters as a basis for their decision on who to vote for as the country’s next set of leaders.
He said voters should not rely on surveys for their decision-making since these are just “snapshots of what certain people are thinking.” – Aurea Calica, Marvin Sy
Noynoy insists options explored on Hacienda Luisita By Aurea Calica (The Philippine Star) Updated March 17, 2010 12:00 AM
NAGA CITY , Philippines - Liberal Party (LP) bet Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III yesterday denied allegations that his family would not give up Hacienda Luisita, and reiterated that “there are already options which are being explored.”
Aquino took exception to an article from The New York Times quoting Fernando Cojuangco, chief operating officer of the holding company that owns the plantation, that the extended Cojuangco family, owners of this plantation since 1958, had no intention of giving up the hacienda.
“If you read that article, it was unfortunate that it was written that way. I don’t think it is a fair treatment. As I told you there are already options which are being explored,” Aquino said.
Aquino said his cousin had texted him and apologized “and he was wondering if he was quoted accurately.”
Aquino said all six families – his mother’s and her siblings’ families – that owned Luisita had met and there was a unanimous decision that “running it (Luisita) under the present scheme is not really viable.”
He said the news article ran counter to his announcement that the family would transfer the hacienda to the farmers after ensuring that debts were paid off.
“It will be theirs free and clear,” Aquino said during an interview with the Times.
He said the news article even questioned the land reform program initiated by his late mother, the former President Corazon Aquino.
“I cannot imagine him (Cojuangco) talking that way about my mother. All of us were brought up to respect our elders. He as a lawyer should have studied the matter. I really am not sure if he was taken out of context,” he said.
The Times article focused on Mrs. Aquino’s first year of presidency, particularly on the land reform program.
Critics said there is no greater example of Mrs. Aquino’s land reform program than the family owned 10,000 acre Hacienda Luisita.
In 2004, the military and the police killed seven protesters during a strike by farmers fighting for land and higher wages.
Since then, the family-controlled Hacienda Luisita has managed to plant only 40 percent of the estate with sugar cane; the rest has been seized by individual farmers or remains idle, the Times said
Cojuangco told the Times that the family has no intention of letting go of Hacienda Luisita.
“No, we’re not going to,” Cojuangco told the Times. “I think it would be irresponsible because I feel that continuing what we have here is the way to go. Sugar farming has to be; it’s the kind of business that has to be done plantation-style.”
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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