Transcript of Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago’s Interview
17 December 2007
On the case of Jalosjos
This is bizarre. This is highly unusual that there were certain documents purporting to authorize the release of a convict and then the highest authorizing person, the President, denied any veracity to the release of the convict. In the first place, in constitutional terms, the power to extend executive clemency belongs completely to the President and is completely discretionary. If she wants to grant it, she can. If the order has not yet been implemented or executed she can withdraw. But in this case, she President is saying that she never issued an order.
Is issue then is not merely whether his (Jalosjos’) sentence has been commuted, or that he could be released this year or some other time, but where did these documents come from? And if the Presidents says that she never authorized them, then who authorized them? That is fraud on the public, particularly on the prisoner, because his expectations were raised, and that is a very cruel joke to play on somebody.
The issue here is who authorized the documents, because clearly he was acting outside of his jurisdiction. In the second place, if there were signatures on the documents pertaining to the release, then either those signatures were authentic and those who signed are criminally liable for excess or abuse of authority; or, if the signatures were forged, then it was a public forgery, and should therefore investigated by the NBI.
On moving to bypass DOE Sec. Angelo Reyes in the Commission on Appointments
Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and I have jointly signed a letter informing the Senate President that we both intend, in plenary session of the Commission on Appointments, to evoke Section 20 of the CA Rules. On the part of Senator Estrada, [his] basis for the veto will be that when his father was Commander in Chief, Sec. Reyes, who was then AFP Chief of Staff, have broken the chain of command. In my case, I simply believe that he is unfit for the office. I am against this practice of rewarding military officials for breaking the law in favor of one presidential personality against another, rewarding them with a series of government posts for which his educational background or training have never prepared him. I am squarely against the attitude that a military general can be given any civilian position regardless of his background. In government we must giver authority who are capable of assuming the responsibility by, among other things, academic preparation for the subject.
I am an administration senator, but I must take a position on the role of the military in civilian affairs because we have a tendency to glamorize the military as if they are the source of all political knowledge in the country. This is not so. Sovereignty resides in the people, not in the military.
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