young radicals

Erap pardon shows GMA continuous betrayal of youth, Edsa Dos - Kabataan Party

More corruption, loss of trust in gov't seen with Estrada's release,
unsolved scandals

The Kabataan Party today hit the Arroyo government for its continuous
betrayal of the Filipino youth and EDSA Dos, saying that the rash
granting of pardon to former President Joseph Estrada shows Mrs.
Arroyo's ultimate abandonment of EDSA Dos principles.

"Such developments only show how Mrs. Arroyo continues to betray the
youth and the ideals and principles of the people's uprising that
catapulted her to power," Kabataan Party President Raymond Palatino
said.

Palatino warned that the hasty pardon for Estrada and the unresolved
cases of bribery and corruption involving Malacanang and several
politicians set a bad precedent for future officials and could further
erode public trust in the government.

"The impetuous pardon for Estrada and unsolved cases of corruption
highlight how hypocrisy and lack of accountability has reached new
heights under the current administration. It's distressing to see how
the present government is more than willing to sacrifice long-standing
legal and democratic rights and even credibility and morality in the
government for political accommodation and greed for power," he
pointed out.

"It is appalling to see how the Arroyo government is using the
Estrada case to divert public attention from far worse cases of
corruption and plunder involving the president herself and her
cohorts," he added.

Bad precedent for village polls

"It's also disturbing that we are having this shameless display of
decadence in the government in the eve of the barangay and Sangguniang
Kabataan elections," he lamented.

Palatino also expressed fear that the scandals of corruption and the
new twist in the Estrada plunder case might send a negative message to
future government officials that they are above the law and can have
the government run at their own whim.

He added that these events could also result to an increase in the
number of corruption cases in the government as it gives corrupt
politicians the notion of being "invincible."

"What would prevent crooked politicians from engaging more in
corruption and other unlawful practices if mechanisms for
accountability are weak and can be easily bent by political interests
and money?"

"We fear that these events will further erode the remaining
confidence of the people, especially the youth, to our democratic
institutions and processes and embed corruption deeper in our
political system, "he added.

posted by adarna @ 2:28 PM