Duterte: Arroyo declined my offer for pardon

Presumptive President-elect Rodrigo Duterte. NESTOR CORRALES/INQUIRER.net

DAVAO CITY– Presumptive President-elect Rodrigo Duterte said that he believes that former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo should be released because there is no good case against her.

“I talked to her (Arroyo). Sabi ko, if I become President, ipa-pardon kita not because you are my friend but I also believe that there is no good case against you, as a prosecutor and a lawyer,” the incoming President told reporters here Monday night.

However, Duterte said that the former chief executive and now reelected Pampanga representative refused his offer.

“Ayaw [niya] because to be able to grant pardon, you have to admit the sin. Ayaw niya kasi wala naman siyang kasalanan. Tama naman,” he said.

With Arroyo’s refusal, the tough-talking President-in-waiting said that he urged her to apply for bail.

“Sabi ko na lang, you just apply for pardon. Tutal lahat naman sila, nakapag-apply na,” he added.

Duterte believes that Arroyo had been deprived of a speedy trial.

“She has been detained for so long. What it has been like, two years?” he said.

“Under the Constitution, ground talaga yan eh. You cannot prejudice the case.”

In the campaign trail, Duterte has repeatedly said that he wants Arroyo to be freed from her hospital arrest.