President Aquino’s grant of amnesty to members of the military who stood up against Gloria Arroyo’s misuse and abuse of presidential powers is a fulfillment of his promise to reshape Philippine society back to its moral state which has been misshapen so badly by Gloria Arroyo for nine years that she was in power.
How the amnesty was carried out to where it is now- the processing of applications of those who want to avail of the amnesty- is instructive of how to navigate around the various forces not only of the competing allies of the administration but also of the political opposition.
Aquino was elected overwhelmingly on the promise of reforms and a discontinuation of Arroyo’s perversion of the justice system for her interest.
But many in the government bureaucracy, having internalized Arroyo’s practice of twisting the law to suit her interest, could not comprehend the message of reform in Aquino’s electoral victory.
From the very beginning, even during the presidential campaign, Aquino was clear about his stand that Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and other Magdalo officers did not commit coup d’etat as defined in the Revised Penal Code. He also said continued detention of Magdalo soldiers was an injustice.
