Deal or no deal?

The day after Judge Oscar Pimentel sentenced them, Armed Forces chief Hermogenes Esperon made the obligatory noises to deny that there was any "deal" between him, his commander-in-chief, and the cashiered officers and men of the Magdalo-capitulator group. (This is to distinguish the Magdalo-defiant group led by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV).

Perhaps because he was not in the loop with Malacañang reality or was just told to say what he had to say, spokesperson Anthony Golez mumbled something about having to go through the process, which meant seeking forgiveness from the commander-in-chief and then going through the Department of Justice for study, etc. Then, on the same day Gambala et al went before media, DILG Secretary Ronaldo Puno announced that he would gladly and immediately endorse clemency for the convicted mutineers.

From the angry young men who rightly denounced both the civilian and military leadership for high crimes, corruption and insensitivity to the plight of the people at an upscale hotel called Oakwood (now the Ascott), here they were mimicking their commander-in-chief in saying "I am sorry." They would not appeal Judge Pimentel’s verdict before a higher court, "even if it hurt and was hard to accept" but would instead seek a presidential pardon", Gambala said, adding that their lawyers were preparing the necessary legal request.

And now, just as we were writing this article, comes the announcement of Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro that on the basis of the recommendation of CSAFP Esperon, he is likewise endorsing the grant of executive clemency. Overlooked perhaps, but no less part of the "process" that Malacañang keeps touting with regard any issue that confronts them, be it Hello Garci or corruption most gross, is the fact that procedurally, the Magdalo capitulators have yet to officially file a motion for reconsideration, theirs by judicial right. Neither have their lawyers manifested that they will not appeal the conviction. In fine, the cart comes before the horse. Deal!

Alright, okay, expect it in short time. They will be granted executive pardon. It’s a done deal. Everything has been scripted, but like a pito-pito movie, pangit at masyadong halata.

From the Palace view, it is intended to put pressure on the other fighting men under detention for mutiny, coup d’etat, or whatever violation of both civilian laws and military rules. All you have to do is admit culpability, seek forgiveness from the "commander-in-chief" you wronged, and all is well.

The deal with Gambala, Maestrecampo et al brings to mind afresh the other highly charged and even more long-playing courtroom drama of the Arroyo watch – the Erap arrest, prosecution, trial, conviction, and swift pardon.

After Erap left Malacañang, the still thorny question of whether Arroyo could legally take over an office from where no written resignation was made, had to be resolved, one way or the other. Estrada said that twice then DOJ Secretary Nani Perez met with him and asked him to resign, in exchange for non-prosecution. He refused.

The Supreme Court then issued its decision that Estrada was considered to have "constructively resigned." divining intent through the contents of a published diary of his erstwhile executive secretary of 13 days, Edgardo Angara, now a pro-administration member of the Senate. The Ombudsman then, Aniano Desierto, found prima facie evidence against Estrada for the crime of plunder, among others. He was arrested, detained, and charged before the Sandiganbayan, but not after the new Arroyo government teetered on the brink with a failed people power revolt now labeled Edsa Tres.

After six years and a half, during which several carrot-and-stick approaches marked the relationship between detained president and Mrs. Arroyo, the special division of the Sandiganbayan handed out its verdict – guilty of the crime of plunder. The sentence was imprisonment for the rest of his life.

Not quite a month later, with DILG Secretary Ronaldo Puno playing the negotiator, a role for which he was eminently qualified, having served likewise in the Estrada cabinet, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo granted executive clemency to her predecessor.

Was there a deal? If so, at what point during the six years and a half of Erap’s detention was the script written? How many times was it changed, fine-tuned, the terms and conditions altered?

Of course neither the former president nor the Magdalo capitulators will say there was a deal. And even if so, we cannot judge them for we have never been put under arrest or detention for anything in our life. Charged for libel by an Arroyo, but able to post bail, I have yet to experience being detained.

Neither will Arroyo and any of her acolytes admit there have been deals. Notice that Hermogenes Esperon denied speculations of a deal right after the verdict was promulgated. But politics is the art of the possible, and possible means having to compromise where personal interests can be made to concur with instant political convenience.

It is easier to convince oneself about suspicions of a scripted compromise between the Magdalo capitulators and Arroyo’s acolytes, both civilian and military. It is a tad more difficult to prove that Estrada’s pardon, which Edsa Dos civil society instigators label as contributing to the culture of impunity, was a political compromise hammered out long before the actual release. In both instances, especially in the Estrada case, the 2010 elections, its shape, and its cast of characters, should provide the real answers.

That is, if the 2010 elections ever push through under the same political system we have today.

In any case, probably because of the circumstances by which it came into being, the product of a coup rather than fair elections, the Arroyo presidency will go down in history as the consummate deal-maker. Politics has never been as transactional in this country until Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was swept into power. Everything is just a transaction, political or well, monetary.