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.