{"id":5393,"date":"2018-12-24T06:09:44","date_gmt":"2018-12-23T19:09:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/?p=5393"},"modified":"2018-12-24T06:09:44","modified_gmt":"2018-12-23T19:09:44","slug":"my-thoughts-on-imeldas-conviction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/?p=5393","title":{"rendered":"My thoughts on Imelda\u2019s conviction"},"content":{"rendered":"

Imelda Marcos must go to jail!<\/strong> She can use a wheel chair like Juan Ponce Enrile plus a used neck brace borrowed from Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. All these are common tricks used by guilty \u2501 or should I say \u2501 dirty politicians as suggested by their lawyers. <\/p>\n

But for how long? Maybe a few days or even just a few hours in a VIP and airconditioned room until she is \u2018pardoned\u2019 by no less than her charitable friend Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. <\/p>\n

If not immediately pardoned, she will most probably be placed \u2018under house arrest\u2019 in her palatial home adorned with her multi-million-dollar Rembrandt paintings. What a farce! Such is democracy, Filipino style. <\/p>\n

It seems not too long ago when famed jeweller Ding Velayo was invited to Malaca\u00f1ang Palace to present some of his prized diamond collections to Imelda. Of course, the businessman was elated to have the First Lady\u2019s attention. After choosing some of the most expensive, the only payment that Velayo got was a cute \u201cthank you.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cImeldific\u201d had the occasion to visit Australia sometime in the past. She must have thought of herself as a queen and proudly wore a tiara, only to be told that only the Queen of England is allowed to wear such a headpiece in the Land Down Under. <\/p>\n

Ana Marie Pamintuan of Philippine Star thanks that if Imelda \u201cis allowed to remain free until the final resolution of her case, now 89, she could be 99 \u2501 or even 109. . . \u2501 by the time final judgment is rendered, considering the glacial pace of our criminal justice system.\u201d <\/p>\n

At an American bank in Manila where I worked, we used to tell clients who threatened to sue the bank: \u201cWe\u2019ll see you in court for the next 20 years.\u201d That is Philippine justice system that still functions at a snail\u2019s pace.
\nIs she healthy enough to be behind bars? <\/p>\n

She must be. She attended her daughter\u2019s birthday party at the time when her conviction was handed down by the Sandigan Bayan (People\u2019s Court). <\/p>\n

\u201cShe must be suffering from multiple moral and honesty infirmities rather than the contrived \u2018multiple organ infirmities\u2019 cited in her Motion,\u201d Congressman Carlos Zarate said.<\/p>\n

Imelda Marcos has a brilliant lawyer in the person of Manuel \u2018Lolong\u2019 Lazaro. I have little doubt that the case will reach the Supreme Court and, at the end of the day, expertly manipulated by her alleged allies. She will be acquitted on technical grounds.<\/p>\n

Should have been convicted of plunder<\/p>\n

Mrs. Marcos who was reported to own 3,000 pairs of shoes was convicted of seven counts of graft. She should have been convicted of plunder, which carries stiffer penalties. Regardless of whatever crime she has committed, the \u2018merciful\u2019 President Duterte, a close friend and ally who allegedly owes her an undetermined amount of money for his presidential bid, is most likely to grant her pardon. <\/p>\n

Well, she\u2019d better apply for amnesty and at the same time admit her guilt. Otherwise, the next president might invalidate or revoke the pardon, similar to what happened in the case of Senator Trillanes. But wait! If Bongbong Marcos wins his case against Vice President Leni Robredo in the Duterte-infested appointees in the Supreme Court, a revocation of Duterte\u2019s pardon is unlikely to happen. <\/p>\n

Will Imelda ever go to jail? Nahhh! \u2501 DMC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Imelda Marcos must go to jail! She can use a wheel chair like Juan Ponce Enrile plus a used neck brace borrowed from Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. All these are common tricks used by guilty \u2501 or should I say \u2501 dirty politicians as suggested by their lawyers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5393"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5393"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5393\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5394,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5393\/revisions\/5394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}