Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo admitted Tuesday that he referred an application for executive clemency on behalf of his former client, convicted rapist and murderer Antonio Sanchez, to the Board of Pardons and Parole, but denied he endorsed or recommended his release.
Public outrage erupted last month when the Justice department said Sanchez, convicted and sentenced to seven life terms for the rape and murder of UP Los Baños student Eileen Sarmenta and the torture and killing of her boyfriend, Allan Gomez, in 1993, could be released early for good behavior.
At a Senate hearing on the controversy over the early release of inmates convicted of heinous crimes, BPP executive director Reynaldo Bayang confirmed that Panelo had sent him a letter dated Feb. 26, referring Sanchez’s application for clemency.
“We are referring this matter to your good office for your evaluation and whatever appropriate action you may want to undertake under the premises,” Panelo’s letter said. Panelo, who served as Sanchez's defense lawyer in his rape and murder trial, also asked Bayang to update his office on its action on the case.
On March 19, Bayang sent a letter to Panelo informing him of BPP’s rejection of Sanchez’s plea.
Panelo said his referral was sent in response to a letter from Sanchez’s daughter, Marie Antonelvie.
Panelo, who had previously denied having any personal communication with Sanchez’s family, confirmed Tuesday that he had, in fact, met them in Malacañang in February.
“I told them that I would refer their letter and they would just have to wait for the answer. That’s all,” Panelo said Tuesday at a Palace briefing.
The presidential spokesman tried to play down the referral as being a part of his official function.
“I was just referring the matter to the appropriate authority,” he said, adding that it was Palace practice to respond to all letters.
Panelo said later Tuesday that he would file a libel suit against online news sites Rappler.com and Inquirer.net for saying he “recommended” and “endorsed” Sanchez’s request for clemency.
“Those articles are reeking not only with irresponsibility but with malice and it is libelous in nature because it imputes an act to discredit me in public and to tarnish my honor,” Panelo said.
“In view of this, I am filing a libel case against Net Inquirer (sic) and Rappler for publishing these malicious articles,” he added.
The complaints are already being drafted by his office, he said.
In a statement posted on Twitter, Rappler said the libel case against them is a “pure diversionary tactic” on the part of Panelo.
“Instead of shooting the messenger, Panelo should instead answer his questions about his possible conflicts of interest,” Rappler said.
Inquirer.net said it respects Panelo’s “right to sue for libel if he feels aggrieved by the report.”
At the press briefing Tuesday, Panelo said responding to letters—including the one from Sanchez’s family—was a standard operating procedure for the Office of the Chief Presidential Legal Counsel.
He also said the President was aware of his meeting with the Sanchez family.
“He [Duterte] was listening. I told him ‘They came to me,’” Panelo said, recalling his conversation with the President.
Panelo said he did not give any assurances to Sanchez’s family.
“There is nothing personal in communicating with them. It’s all official. It’s all recorded,” Panelo added.
But for two weeks after the scandal broke, Panelo was silent on his meetings with the Sanchez family and did not speak up about his referral until a copy of his letter surfaced during Senate hearings on the early release program for inmates.
In his testimony before the Senate, Bayang said Panelo merely referred to the BPP the letter written by Sanchez’s daughter seeking executive clemency for her father.
“We request that your good office update us for record purposes and for whatever action this office may want to undertake consistent with law and the policy of the President for good government,” Panelo said in his letter.
Bayang said several politicians also wrote the BPP to vouch for Sanchez’s good behavior, including former first lady Imelda Marcos, former Laguna governor ER Ejercito and former Supreme Court associate justice Arturo Brion, who comes from the same province as Sanchez.
On Dec. 10, 2018, the BPP rejected Sanchez’s petition due to the gravity of his crime. It also sustained the dismissal of Sanchez’s appeal in a decision dated Feb. 27, 2019.
Republic Act No. 10592, also known as the GCTA Law, was enacted during the Aquino administration but has come under scrutiny following reports that Sanchez might gain early release, thanks to its provisions.
The law, based on the interpretation of the Bureau of Corrections, allowed Sanchez to avail of GCTA and be released ahead of the end of his prison term.
READ: Ex-judge in Sanchez case wants Panelo to quit
READ: Task force to review convicts’ GCTA rules