‘Aghast’ Conrad sheds crocodile tears for Gloria

My former comrade Conrad de Quiros pronounces himself “aghast” at the medical condition of former President Gloria Arroyo (Opinion, 1/15/14). Nonetheless, he still wants her to stay behind bars—because “it is a matter of justice,” a matter of “crime and punishment.”

Rest easy, old friend. If you’re worried about justice being compromised by mercy in her case, consider the following facts—all of them verifiable from the record—which only reinforce the presumption of innocence on her part that every accused person is entitled to by law:

1. The alleged evidence against Arroyo, in the PCSO funds plunder case under which she is currently detained, consists solely of her marginal notation “OK” on the funds-release document. The Ombudsman itself admitted that this was “not irregular per se.”

2.  There is no shred of evidence that Arroyo appropriated even a single cent of those funds for herself. When asked if the prosecution had anything else apart from the “OK” notation, the sole witness against her, PCSO director Aleta Tolentino, had to admit: “That is all we have, sir!”

3. Arroyo was not involved in subsequent actions taken by the PCSO board and management to disburse those funds. Moreover, those disbursements were duly audited by the Commission on Audit and found to be compliant.

These are just some of the facts showing that Arroyo’s “degree of participation” in the alleged offense does not justify her detention without bail. The other consideration, “extenuating circumstances,” is addressed by a medical certificate last November from Dr. Antonio Sison, a spine surgery specialist at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center, who said in part:

Arroyo is suffering from “cervical and lumbar pain with further deterioration of her poor physical health,” which “may cause serious impairment to her health and danger to her life, unless attended to promptly.”

I know it grieves De Quiros to see Arroyo’s plight, which he says he “would not wish to befall anyone, even her.” But if he insists on rushing to judgment despite the facts mentioned above, then the tears that he’s figuratively shedding for her will turn out to be nothing but: crocodile tears.

“Tada yori takai mono wa nai”—Michihiro Matsumoto (1988)

—GARY B. OLIVAR,

Center for Strategy, Enterprise & Intelligence, 373 Boni Avenue, Mandaluyong City