Guilty! (UPDATED)

Joseph Estrada is found guilty of plunder and is sentenced for life imprisonment. He is found not guilty of perjury.

His son Jinggoy Estrada and other accused are acquitted of all charges.

My view: For those who are claiming that this verdict should be a warning to all corrupt politicians – in your dreams. The justice system remains broken as ever, and nothing has changed. A single verdict will not change the system. As long as you continue electing corrupt politicians, as long as you selectively put corrupt people in jail, as long as you tolerate petty violations of the law, as long as apathy reigns among us, no amount of jail time nor gun shots can address corruption.

This is not the time to celebrate. We must now buckle down to work, and start with ourselves. Start by following simple traffic rules. Start by stopping bribery in any form. Start by electing the right people. Start by holding ALL OF OUR PUBLIC OFFICIALS ACCOUNTABLE. Start by paying attention to what is happening around us.

If we don’t start now, it is only a matter of time before another Chavit surfaces. Yes, he should be in jail, too.

UPDATE:

Here is Black and White Movement’s statement on the verdict:

BnW REACTION TO ERAP VERDICT

We respect the decision of the Sandiganbayan in regard to the plunder case against former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada.

We presume the court arrived at its decision after careful evaluation of evidence presented during the trial.

The Black & White Movement, however, laments the selective application of justice – expedient and with a heavy hand for those perceived to be enemies of the GMA regime, while slow and protective toward those allied with her.

What is the difference between Jose Velarde and Jose Pidal?

Why has this government not pursued the cases against Nani Perez, Joc-Joc Bolante, Virgilio Garcillano, and more recently, Benjamin Abalos’ alleged complicity in the ZTE deal? Instead of pursuing these cases, this administration has stonewalled through gag orders such as the illegal EO 464 and questionable MO 108.

This reflects the sad state of our justice system where political patronage is the rule of the day. Those out of favor with the powers that be are prosecuted while those in the inner circle are beyond the reach of the long arm of the law. As former President “Erap” himself has put it… “weather-weather lang.”

We can only hope that when the political winds change direction, those who are currently in the circle of power, who are allegedly involved in crimes more sinister and heinous than Erap’s plunder, will have their day in court.

Here are the links to the decision (I suggest clicking on Mirrors 3-5):

Mirror 1
Mirror 2
Mirror 3
Mirror 4
Mirror 5

Here is the ABS-CBN News report: Erap guilty of plunder (slow load at this moment, you have to wait for a few minutes)
Here is Inquirer.net news report: Estrada guilty of plunder; perjury rap dropped
GMA 7 news report: Sandigan verdict: Erap guilty of plunder, cleared of perjury

September 12th, 2007

9 Comments

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  • http://www.quezon.ph/?p=1506 Manuel L. Quezon III: The Daily Dose » Blog Archive » A trap of his own making

    [...] Anyway, Diego K. Guerrero says the decision was crap. Mabini Hall (columnist Geronimo Sy, who privately expressed dissatisfaction with my comments on his column praising the president; he said to please distinguish issues from personalities), expresses great satisfaction over the verdict, calling it a triumph of institutions. Patsada Karajaw Nation thinks the case is an exception and won’t set a precedent (something blog@AWBHoldings.com thinks, too).  An OFW in Hong Kong takes a more detached look at the verdict: people are simply going to move on. pmaniego is frankly ambivalent, while bits and pieces says different people wanted different outcomes, but in general, there’s a positive lesson to be learned. Mommy Talks, Wife Stories, Girl Speak says the entire political leadership’s been indicted and convicted. Zwischen Immer und Nie has little patience for those asking for leniency for Estrada. [...]

  • http://www.manila-bay-watch.blogspot.com manila bay watch

    Meanwhile, here’s a list of scandals and anomalous transactions that Gloria and her government have been involved in from day 1 after having toppled former President Estrada (and unresolved to this day):

    The list is from DJB’s Philippine Commentary thread “After Erap, Who’s next?” http://www.philippinecommentary.blogspot.com , preceeded by a brief introduction (his).

    Readers may google any of the following search terms to get an idea of the vast quagmire of corruption and malfeasance that Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her diehard allies must surely be brought before the Bar of Justice for:

    Jose Pidal unexplained wealth
    Nani Perez, IMPSA bribery scandal
    Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard
    NAIA-3
    Impeachment of Hilario Davide
    Venable Contract Norberto Gonzales
    EO 464
    Oakwood Mutiny
    JocJoc Bolante fertilizer scam
    Comelec Automated Counting Machine scandal
    2004 elections Philippines
    Maguindanao Zubiri Pimentel Bedol
    Hello Garci Wiretapping and Electoral Rigging Case
    Kidnapping Vidal Doble Family Medy Poblador
    Extrajudicial Killings
    ZTE National Broadband Network Deal
    Basilan Beheadings Abu Sayyaf and MILF Peace Talks

  • http://postcardheadlines.wordpress.com Karlo

    AWBHoldings.com,

    Thanks for sharing the BnW statement.

    Manila Bay Watch,

    Thank you for sharing the long list of GMA’s accountabilities.

  • http://awbholdings.com Arbet

    Hi, Karlo, you are most welcome.

  • http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/2007/09/14/former-philippine-president-convicted-of-plunder/ Global Voices Online » Former Philippine president convicted of plunder

    [...] Blog @ AWBHoldings.com believes the verdict is not enough to prosecute all corrupt officials: “For those who are claiming that this verdict should be a warning to all corrupt politicians – in your dreams. The justice system remains broken as ever, and nothing has changed. A single verdict will not change the system. As long as you continue electing corrupt politicians, as long as you selectively put corrupt people in jail, as long as you tolerate petty violations of the law, as long as apathy reigns among us, no amount of jail time nor gun shots can address corruption.” [...]

  • nelson

    The GMA people now has a cop-out: Wala pa daw consumated contract dahil wala pang ang related loan agreement. But I found somewhere (http://services.inquirer.net/express/07/09/10/html_output/xmlhtml/20070910-87609-xml.html) an info that China and the Philippines already signed a $1.8-billion loan agreement on Aug. 25 in Makati City of w/c the particular subject of allocation is undefined (so they could be free to design big project deals?). If this information is true, then there are already in the works other projects of w/c the preferential contractor will be the lender – China! That means the Filipino people will pay $2,291,014,800 with a sample interest rate of 5% for a sample period of 10 years. Or at P45 to a dollar – P103,095,666,000. If these projects turn out as white elephants, what an inheritance they will leave and what a legacy they will bequeth to our children!

  • http://awbholdings.com Arbet

    Hi, Nelson, they don’t care, as long as they get their share. And about their children, I am sure they will be greatly provided for; the hell with our children, they will say.

  • nelson

    May broadband backbone na po all along ang gov’t. See
    my blog at http://midas.blogsome.com/ or
    http://computer.howstuffworks.com/bpl.htm . —>> ang
    electricity lines natin! We just need the last mile
    electrification!

  • http://awbholdings.com/blog/?p=469 Pardon me for not joining…. « blog @ AWBHoldings.com

    [...] One, the supposed message that it would send to everyone. When the Sandiganbayan found Estrada guilty on two counts of plunder, here’s what I had said: My view: For those who are claiming that this verdict should be a warning to all corrupt politicians – in your dreams. The justice system remains broken as ever, and nothing has changed. A single verdict will not change the system. As long as you continue electing corrupt politicians, as long as you selectively put corrupt people in jail, as long as you tolerate petty violations of the law, as long as apathy reigns among us, no amount of jail time nor gun shots can address corruption. [...]

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