I Beg Your Pardon

Atty. Fred from Jaromay Laurente Pamaos has in his blawg a small primer on the President’s power to pardon, and I suggest reading it before continuing on any further.

Now although the discourse is filed under criminal law, the power to pardon is a concept that law students encounter in political law. As I remember, the power to pardon of the President is discussed only in broad strokes in criminal law, and only to the extent of its effect on the liabilities of a convicted felon.

Although a pardon, broadly speaking, can be a reprieve from, or a commutation of a sentence, or a remittance of a fine or forfeiture, the President’s power to grant pardons is nevertheless a political exercise. In granting a pardon, the President acts as the embodiment of the Filipino people. It is exercised for and on behalf of the people precisely because a criminal act is considered in law to be a violation against each and every Filipino.