Manero now a life-long Estrada fan

The killer of Italian priest Tullio Favali thanked President Estrada yesterday for granting him executive clemency, and vowed to be a law-abiding citizen and his life-long supporter.

In a letter released to the media yesterday, Norberto Manero, who was released from state prison along with 500 others last Dec. 16, told Mr. Estrada he would be a "productive member of society and I will support your government for as long as I live."

In his weekly radio program, Mr. Estrada acknowledged Manero's pledges, saying he was glad the ex-convict was turning over a new leaf. "That is what should be done after getting a parole or pardon," he said.

The Chief Executive was severely criticized for granting clemency to Manero, but he tried to pin the blame on his predecessor, President Fidel Ramos, who commuted earlier Manero's maximum jail term of 40 years to 24 years.

"If Manero had not had his sentence commuted by the previous administration, he would not have been included on the list of eligibles (for pardon) in the first place by cutting his life sentence to 24 years," Mr. Estrada said.

The President reiterated he was not aware that Manero's name was on the list, saying he can't go through all the names one by one.

"If I read everyone of those, I would be doing nothing else," he pointed out.

Mr. Estrada hit back at his critics for using the Manero case as an issue against him. "Now, they (critics) are making it seem that I don't know what I am doing."

He hinted that he did not have to review Manero's case since it was the job of the Board of Pardons and Parole headed by Justice Secretary Serafin Cuevas.

For his part, Cuevas blamed the media for the controversy over Manero's release from jail.

"Pardon me for saying so, but it's a simple case of false reporting by our good friends in the media. If Manero's victim was not an Italian priest, I'm sure we will not have this furor," he said.

He added that some of the prisoners released last month committed crimes more heinous than Manero's offense.

He maintained that Manero's pardon was in order as the prisoner was qualified for it under BPP rules.

Meanwhile, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago urged Cuevas to recommit Manero to the New Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa City for breach of the conditions of his pardon.

Santiago contended that Cuevas, by authority of the President, has the incontestable power to order Manero's arrest.

"The determination of the violation of the conditional pardon rests exclusively in the sound judgment of the President, and the pardonee has no right to question it in court," Santiago said.

She added that the arrest order against Manero can be issued immediately, and that the President does not have to wait for a judicial ruling of guilt of a subsequent crime.

The Senate committee on justice and human rights starts hearing tomorrow the controversial pardon on Manero.

Senate Majority Leader Franklin Drilon said the committee would determine if Manero had really served more than one-half of his commuted 24-year jail term.

"We would also want to know if the good conduct credited to Manero up to 1992 was extinguished by his escape from prison," Drilon said.

In another development, North Cotabato Rep. Anthony Dequina who was suspected of having instigated the grant of executive clemency to Manero, urged critics to leave Manero alone and give him a chance to rebuild his life.

Dequina also said the former convict's life now is "more in danger than when he was in prison."

"There are pressures from different sectors. I don't know, it seems there is a double standard here. Many rebels who have committed heinous crimes continue to be at large," Dequina said.

He confirmed that Manero had ties with his father, Nicolas Dequina, a former mayor of Midsayap town in North Cotabato.

The elder Dequina, with the help of seven other local leaders, formed the Ilaga movement in the early 702 as a community defense against the inroads of Muslim insurgency in North Cotabato.

Meanwhile, the militant human rights group Karapatan chided the President for setting Manero free, but refusing to grant pardon to political detainees, some of whom are allegedly innocent of the crimes they were accused of committing.

"Letting loose a self-confessed murderer and human rights violator only confirms the rottenness and impotency of the Philippine judicial system," said Karapatan secretary-general Marie Hilao-Enriquez. -