by Aytch S. de la Cruz (The Daily Tribune)
http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/20100217hed5.htmlMalacañang yesterday dismissed the very public apology expressed by then Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman and now vice presidential candidate for Bangon Pilipinas party, Perfecto Yasay, addressed to former President Joseph Estrada before a large crowd of devotees.
Yasay admitted before thousands of religious devotees in the 25th anniversary of the Taber-nacles of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ last Sunday that he regretted the day he had allowed himself to become an instrument of an unlawful government transition though a conspiracy by the elite society to unconstitutionally oust Estrada.
A major player in that elite conspiracy to oust the former president was then Vice President Gloria Arroyo.
Deputy presidential spokesman Gary Olivar, in response to this report bannered by the Tribune, said in a phone patch briefing in Malacañang yesterday that the Palace prefers to leave the matter of the statement and the apology of Yasay to Estrada and the former SEC chief, since this matter dealt more on the personal concerns between Yasay and Estrada.
“That (public apology) is something between Mr. Yasay and the former President (Estrada) and whoever Mr. Yasay said is part of the conspiracy that he was allied with before, this too, is a matter among those particular personalities for them to resolve and however they see it,” Olivar said.
Olivar virtually exonerated Arroyo on the issue, asserting that he had never read an account that directly mentioned her as a co-conspirator of such an ouster plot --a statement that apparently ran in contrast to Yasay’s admissions.
Olivar’s statement also runs counter to factual events, such as the speech delivered by Arroyo sometime in February 2001 before the Council of Philippine Affairs (Copa), a so-called civil society group that was part of the elite conspiracy to oust Estrada.
In her speech, which was caught on video and reported in the media, Arroyo, flushed with success at having grabbed the presidency from Estrada through an elite backed coup d’etat, aided by the military generals led by then Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Gen. Angelo Reyes, now the Energy chief under the Arroyo regime, she admitted that she had planned the ouster of Estrada in January 2000, or a full year before the actual coup d’etat was mounted.
She admitted that with her in plotting the ouster of the then sitting president, were the bishops, including the late Jaime Cardinal Sin, the Makati businessmen, the then political opposition, the leftists and the military officers, along with the retired military officers.
She even introduced to the Copa audience the military officers who were actively involved in the coup d’etat.
She has been silent on this fact every since the video of her speech surfaced.
Yasay surprised the crowd when he publicly apologized to the former president whom he said he had offended at the time he was head of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“I have offended this man and I ask for his forgiveness,”Yasay admitted.
“Please accept my public apology for being so naive for allowing myself to be used by some to grab the presidency from you.
“I know that I have offended this man (Estrada) 10 years ago. I am asking for forgiveness in this time when love governs us all. My public apology to Erap for offending him when I was asked to do what I have to do to carry out my duties,” said Yasay in his speech, which was carried by media.
Yasay was harking back to his testimony during the impeachment trial of Estrada where he claimed to having been bribed by Estrada.
It was also Yasay who claimed that Estrada received millions of pesos in kickbacks when he forced business tycoon Alfonso Yuchengco to sell his shares in the Philippine Long Distance Telecommunications Co. (PLDT) in 1998. And he admitted about being naive not to know that I was being used so that they can grab the presidency from you.”
Yasay was quoted expressing his deep regrets for his participation over what happened to Estrada’s short-lived presidential term.
Yasay joined a long list of people who have likewise extended their apologies to Estrada for their roles in the coup d’etat of 2001, which includes the late former president Cory Aquino.
In her brief remarks during the launching of former House Speaker Jose de Venecia’s biography “The Global Filipino” a few days before Christmas 2008, Aquino publicly asked for Estrada’s forgiveness after admitting her role in Edsa ll.
“All of us commit mistakes. Please just forgive me,” Aquino then appealed to Estrada, who later said Cory Aquino’s apology was the “best Christmas gift” he had received.
Before this Aquino apology, Bishop Antonio Tobias of the Diocese of Novaliches also called on Estrada to forgive the Catholic church for what it had done to him. Tobias’ appeal was made while he was delivering the homily during a mass at the St. Peter’s Church in Quezon City several years back, at which the former president was also present.
It was this elite conspiracy to oust Estrada that led to a highly politicized arrest and plunder trial at the Sandiganbayan.
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