BY ASHZEL HACHERO

THE Makati regional trial court has denied the application of the Board of Pardons and Parole for executive clemency for rapist Romeo Jalosjos, a former Zamboanga del Norte representative.

Judge Selma Alarcio Alaras said Jalosjos "is nowhere near the 15 years required to qualify him for executive clemency."

Jalosjos was convicted of two counts of statutory rape and six counts of acts of lasciviousness in 1997. He was meted two life terms for the first offense and 12 to 15 years for the second offense.

He has spent 10 years and one month in jail.

The parole board in a letter dated Jan. 22 and signed by Chief Parole Officer Ernesto Dizon said it was considering clemency for Jalosjos and asked the court for a legal opinion.

The Revised Rules and Regulations of the Board of Pardon and Parole says that to avail of executive clemency, those convicted of a heinous crime and sentenced to one or more life terms should have served at least 15 years in jail.

The court said Jalosjos has also not complied with his obligation to pay the victim civil and moral damages amounting to P800,000. It said his continued failure will add a maximum of at least six months of subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency.

The court also said the board did not say if the application had complied with its rules.

The rules require that the prisoner should have undergone psychological examinations and an interview by impartial evaluators. His application should also have been published in a newspaper of general circulation.

Despite repeated calls for his expulsion, the House allowed Jalosjos to remain in office even while under detention in the 10th, 11th and early part of the 12th Congress.

He was dropped from the roster when the Supreme Court upheld his conviction in 2002.