MANILA, Philippines -- President Macapagal-Arroyo might not be inclined at all to grant an absolute pardon to convicted rapist Romeo Jalosjos, acting Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera told reporters on Monday.

Devanadera said it was also unlikely for Jalosjos to get absolute pardon in time for him to file a certificate of candidacy by the Dec. 1 deadline. (Jalosjos said he wanted absolute pardon so he could run again for his old post as congressman of Zamboanga del Norte.)

“I don’t think the President is inclined [to grant him an absolute pardon],” said Devanadera.
“It’s not just the provisions of the law, it’s also being sensitive to some issues.”

Devanadera said there was a long line of applicants for pardon pending in the Department of Justice and the Board of Pardons and Parole.

“We have so many applicants from September onwards. Most inmates are wishing they’d be home for Christmas,” she said.

Asked if Jalosjos might be pardoned before Dec. 1, Devanadera said, “I doubt it.”

“It depends on how long the queue is,” she said.

Jalosjos was released from prison earlier in 2009, after his sentence for raping an 11-year-old girl in 1996 was commuted and he was given credit for good conduct.

Jalosjos, a former congressman representing Zamboanga del Norte, has reportedly applied for an absolute pardon in order to regain his rights to vote and be voted upon.

“He was released because he had already served his sentence,” said Devanadera. The absolute pardon, she added, was a different matter altogether.