"JOSE VELARDE" ADMISSION A PLOY FOR LESSER CONVICTION?: Was it a ploy or
another blunder?
Former prosecutors from the House of Representatives and senator-judges in
the impeachment trial of ousted president Joseph Estrada said Tuesday that
Estradas admission to having signed bank documents as "Jose Velarde" was
an admission of guilt.
But some of them said the admission could be a strategy for Estrada to
bargain for conviction in a case in which he is accused of having illegally
used an alias in exchange for dropping the charge of economic plunder, a
capital offense.
Senate President Franklin Drilon and Senator Renato Cayetano, both legal
experts, said the admission was a "well-thought legal strategy". Cayetano
said Estrada made the admission with the consent of his lawyers, and Senate
President Pro Tempore Manuel Villar said it could be a ploy the lawyers
played in preparation for bargaining.
Drilon said that because of the admission the prosecution could dispense
with the testimony of Clarissa Ocampo, the bank executive who testified at
Estrada's impeachment trial that she saw Estrada sign a bank document as
Jose Velarde.
Drilon said the prosecution could now ask for "stipulation of the fact"
that Estrada signed the documents as Jose Velarde.
Ombudsman Aniano Desierto, who is prosecuting the plunder and illegal-alias
cases at the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court, said: "In view of the public
pronouncement of the accused, the prosecution panel now expects the defense
to stipulate that Mr. Estrada is Jose Velarde."
A stipulation would discard the need for the prosecution to present
evidence that Estrada owned the Velarde account, he said, adding that doing
so would speed up the trial "to the benefit of both the people and the
accused."
Estrada's admission was "a ploy to soften his criminal liability," said
Pastor Saycon of the Council on Philippine Affairs, a group that helped in
ousting the former president.
Saycon said Estrada and his camp were in "panic situation" and the
admission was a desperate attempt to settle with a conviction far less than
plunder, which is punishable by death.
Former Ilocos Sur governor Luis "Chavit" Singson said Estrada could have
been thinking that he would be slapped with mere misrepresentation or
falsification of document when he admitted the Jose Velarde signature.
If Estrada gets the lesser penalty, he could invoke his detention as time
served so that he could walk out to freedom, according to a House member.
But Senate minority floor leader Aquilino Pimentel, who was Senate
president during the impeachment trial, said the admission made Estrada a
witness against himself. "That's the tragedy of Erap (Estrada's nickname).
He does not seem to realize the consequences of his actions," he said.
Deputy House Speaker Raul Gonzalez said Estrada's admission strengthened
the prosecution's case against him, but added it could be a "desperate
legal strategy."
Akbayan Party Representative Loretta Ann Rosales said she was not surprised
by Estradas admission. "I have always thought that it is not in Eraps
character to keep on putting up a front of denial for a long time," she
said. "The only catch there is that until now, he thinks there was
absolutely nothing wrong with what he did." Inquirer, 02/27/2002
DEFENSE PANEL: ERAP WON’T SEEK POLITICAL ASYLUM: Deposed president Estrada’s
camp yesterday denied allegations that he aims to seek political asylum in
the United States on the pretext of undergoing knee surgery, for which he
has petitioned the Sandiganbayan Special Division for clearance to leave
detention.
Raymond Fortun, a member of Estrada’s defense panel, also said they have
no part in the twin resolution signed by members of the lower and upper
chambers of the Congress for the latter to be permitted to go to the US.
The ousted leader has been asking the court to let him to go to the United
States to undergo total knee surgery under the care of Dr. Christopher Mow
of the Standard Medical Center.
He, however, needs the permission of the court to leave detention because
he is facing the capital offense of plunder in connection with allegations
that he illegally amassed P4.1 billion during his presidency from July 1998
to January 2001.
Plunder is non-bailable and punishable by death.
Estrada and plunder co-accused son former San Juan mayor Jinggoy Estrada
are currently detained at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center.
The disgraced chief executive and his lawyers are insisting that the knee
surgery can’t be done in the country due to lack of medical facilities here.
Aside from this, Mow had also earlier said that he is not inclined to
come to the Philippines to perform the operation due to the peace and order
situation here.
The civil group Plunder Watch, a key figure in the ouster of Estrada last
year, claims that the former president will not return to the country to
face the string of criminal charges against him.
Meanwhile, the cross-examination of state pension funds Social Security System
(SSS) assistant vice president Rizaldy Capulong will continue today.
The prosecution panel presented Capulong to corroborate an earlier testimony
of former SSS chairman Carlos Arellano that the government firm bought shares
from gaming company Belle Corp. on October 1999.
Arellano, in his testimony, claimed that he felt pressured by Estrada to
invest in the gaming firm.
The prosecution alleges that the disgraced chief executive pocketed a
P189.7-million commission from the SSS and Government Service Insurance System
(GSIS) purchase of Belle stocks.
Manila Times, 18 February 2002
COURT JUNKS ERAP’S BID FOR DISMISSAL OF ALIAS CASE: The Sandiganbayan Special
Division junked yesterday deposed president Joseph Estrada’s bid for the dismissal
of a case involving the use of an alias, paving the way for an arraignment of
a second perjury charge lodged against him on Feb. 13, 2001.
The Court also directed Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General
Leandro Mendoza to bring the disgraced chief executive to the Sandiganbayan
on the 13th of this month, at 9 a.m.
The Special Division, in a five-page resolution penned by junior member
Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, threw out Estrada’s plea
to junk the case for his illegal use of an alias, a violation of Commonwealth
Act No. 142 as amended by Republic Act No. 6085.
Acting Presiding Justice and Division chairman Minita Chico-Nazario and
senior member Associate Justice Edilberto Sandoval concurred with the ruling.
The resolution rejected Estrada’s claim that, the prosecution had failed
to show "alleged habitual and public use" of the Jose Velarde alias.
The Court earlier ordered the arrest of Estrada’s pal, Jaime Dichaves,
who had claimed to be Velarde during the former president’s Senate impeachment
trial.
The Court rejected Estrada’s claim of a predicate offense to the crime of
plunder.
While the trial of the plunder case against Estrada started last October,
the Court has not yet formally read the allegations against him regarding
the illegal use of an alias charge.
The second perjury case against the disgraced chief executive stems from
his alleged misdeclaration of his 1998 Statement of Assets and Liabilities
and Networth (SALN).
Manila Times, 8 February 2002
