Special Prosecutor Dennis Villaignacio said Tuesday that the Department of Justice violated its own rules in the granting of executive clemency to convicted murderer Claudio Teehankee, Jr.

Villaignacio, a special prosecutor under the Office of the Ombudsman and the lead government lawyer in the plunder case of former President Joseph Estrada, said that the names of all convicts applying for pardon should be published in newspapers. He added that the offended parties should be informed of the request.

He said that these are based on the DOJ's Revised Rules and Regulations ng Board of Pardons and Parole promulgated March 7, 2006.

By informing the offended parties of the convict's request for pardon, they would have the opportunity to oppose the motion.

Villaignacio also said that in the case of Teehankee, a further 17 years should still have to be served in prison before he is qualified for pardon. This, the government lawyer said, is based on the two life terms and one reclusion temporal.

He said the public should closely monitor pardon applications. He also called on Congress to pass a bill that would grant the legislature review powers on the granting of pardon.

"I call for more transparency and due process for families na rin. After all, it's their own rules, ineexpect naman ng publiko na i-oobserve ito. Pag inobserve nila, no issue. Kaya lang naman nagka-issue dahil hindi inobserve ang rules," he said.

Teehankee, a son and namesake of the late chief justice of the Supreme Court, was convicted for killing Filipino Swede Maureen Hultman and her friend,

Teehankee was convicted for the cold-blooded murder of teenagers Roland John Chapman and Swedish-Filipino Maureen Hultman in posh Dasmariñas Village in Makati City in 1991. A third victim, Jussi Leino, was wounded in the attack. With a report from Willard Cheng, ABS-CBN News