Puno 'ecstatic' over Estrada pardon bid

Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno on Monday said he was "ecstatic" over former President Joseph Estrada's decision to drop his motion for reconsideration and seek presidential pardon instead. Puno, interviewed on dzBB radio Monday evening, said it was heartening for him to see two presidents he served finally set aside their differences and unite for the nation. Estrada faces up to 40 years imprisonment after the Sandiganbayan found him guilty of plunder last September 12. "I'm really ecstatic. Tuwang tuwa ako rito. Para dito sa dalawang pangulo natin sa magkabilang dulo ng ating pulitika para maglapitan dito at magkaisa sa issue na ito at magtulong-tulong sa akin napakagandang simulain ito (I'm really ecstatic and happy. For two presidents on opposite sides of the fence to finally unite on the issue, this promises a good beginning)," he said. Estrada earlier asked President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to grant him pardon now that his lawyers have withdrawn their appeal to the antigraft court. Acting Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera said Estrada withdrew his motion for reconsideration and appealed for a "full, free and unconditional pardon." Excerpts of the defense panel's three-page letter to President Arroyo, signed by Estrada's counsel Jose Flaminiano, was read on dzBB radio. The letter was dated October 22. It stated: "Today we filed a withdrawal of his motion for reconsideration. President Estrada, himself, believes that appeal to the Supreme Court would be futile or even the possibility of a favorable judgment will not justify several more years of detention." Flaminiano also wrote that the "delicate condition" of Estrada's 102-year-old ailing mother, Doña Mary Ejercito, "deteriorated when she learned of what has befallen her son." He added that Estrada's ouster from the presidency and the "humiliation" that came with it was enough punishment already. Warning of "bad feelings" that may "boil" should Estrada be locked up at the National Penitentiary, Flaminano appealed to Mrs Arroyo, "In the highest national interest, which President Estrada is always willing to subordinate his own, we appeal to Your Excellency to grant him full, free and unconditional pardon." - GMANews.TV