Child rapist Jalosjos seeks pardon so he can run again

Former Zamboanga del Norte representative Romeo Jalosjos. MAILA AGER/INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

Convicted child rapist Romeo Jalosjos is asking President Duterte to grant him absolute pardon in an apparent preparation for his plan to run in the midterm elections in 2019.

In a public notice of the Board of Pardons and Parole (BPP) published in newspapers yesterday, Jalosjos’ name was included as one of the 36 convicts seeking the President’s executive clemency this year.

“Any interested party may send his/her written objections/comments/information relevant to the cases of above-named prisoners to the undersigned not later than 30 days from date of publication,” said BPP executive director Reynaldo Bayang.

Jalosjos was released from the New Bilibid Prison in March 2009 after spending only 12 years in prison for raping an 11-year-old girl.

His conviction in 1997 for child rape was commuted by his political ally, then President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Disqualified

In 2013, the Commission on Elections disqualified him from the mayoral race in Zamboanga City because of his conviction. The Supreme Court later upheld the election body’s decision.

An attached agency of the Department of Justice, the BPP processes the application for pardon of individuals convicted of criminal offenses which it would then submit to the President for approval.

Under the 1987 Constitution, the President was authorized to grant executive clemency or pardon in the form of “reprieve, absolute or conditional pardon with or without parole conditions, and commutation of sentence.”

The President may also grant parole or the conditional release of convicts who had served the minimum jail term of their sentence.