“Pardon for Erap Unpardonable!” - HEAD
Dear Friends,
Kindly forward this to our medical practitioners here in the US.
Thanks,
Rico Foz
Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD)
2/F Doña Anita Bldg, 284 E. Rodriguez Ave., Quezon City
Telefax: (02) 725 4760
Email: headphil@gmail.com
Media Release
26 October 2007
“Pardon for Erap Unpardonable!” - HEAD
The executive clemency granted by Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to former President Joseph Estrada is the height of hypocrisy and an insult to the Filipino people. The crime of plunder for which Estrada was found guilty cannot be absolved by someone who is guilty of even bigger plunder and worse corruption.
Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD), the 3,000-strong national organization of health professionals, workers, and students believes that the issue of presidential pardon is being used for political expediency and has absolutely no basis in terms of dispensing justice.
“On the contrary, Mrs. Arroyo has undermined the entire judicial process and exposed how her administration condones, rather than condemns, plunder.” According to Dr. Gene Alzona Nisperos, HEAD secretary-general.
“Can Mrs. Arroyo actually say that the grant of pardon was for the national interest? Who, aside from Erap and Gloria, stands to benefit from this?”
HEAD believes that the pardon is merely a “carrot-and-stick” approach of the administration not just for Erap but to woo his followers, neutralize the Opposition, and stem the rising tide of popular dissent against Mrs. Arroyo. After several influential Catholic bishops demanded her resignation “for lack of moral ascendancy”, pressure continued to rise due to a series of scandals of bribery and anomalous deals that point directly to her.
“Mrs. Arroyo has shown that she will literally beg, steal, or borrow in order to stay in power,” added Dr. Nisperos. “She barters the interests of the Filipino people to save her own skin, and she must be held accountable for such treachery. Our people demand nothing less than justice.”
“What Mrs. Arroyo has done is unpardonable!”
HEAD is joining calls for Mrs. Arroyo’s resignation. “The current dispensation has lost all semblance of moral and political ascendancy. What is obvious is Mrs. Arroyo’s blind ambition to remain in power at all cost. Given the brazen arrogance and unscrupulous behavior of Mrs. Arroyo and her men, the litany of corruption scandals will only continue.”
The suffering of the Filipino people will also continue. Based on what happened over the last few years, Mrs. Arroyo will only wait for her regime to regain a semblance of stability before she unleashes the hounds of war and viciously persecute those who oppose her.
“The lies being peddled must stop now!” Dr. Nisperos ended. “We call on all members of the health sector and the Filipino people to unite and stand up against a corrupt, immoral, authoritarian, and demented president.”###
References:
Dr. Gene Alzona Nisperos
Secretary-General, 0916 214 5724
Dr. Geneve E. Rivera
Deputy Secretary-General, 0920 460 3712
