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Thursday, March 23, 2006
Erap testifies: denies, denies
MANILA - Ousted president Joseph Estrada sharply denied yesterday that he took huge kickbacks in office, defending himself against capital charges of plunder and defiantly telling an anti-graft court that he was framed.
With hundreds of Estrada’s backers rallying outside, the testimony capped five years of court proceedings that he hopes will vindicate him.
“These are trumped-up charges, a frame-up,” the actor-turned-politician said when questioned about kickback allegations.
“That’s a pack of lies,” he added when asked about an allegation that he sought kickbacks from tobacco excise taxes in Ilocos Sur Province. “I don’t have the conscience to steal money intended for farmers.”
During a break at the heavily guarded Sandiganbayan anti-graft court, Estrada told ANC television that he was hoping for a fair trial. “This is all political, you know,” he said.
Presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye countered that the government has been fair.
Appeal
“The fact that former president Joseph Estrada was taking the witness stand is clear proof that due process has been strictly observed in his case,” Bunye said in a statement. “We call on all the sectors concerned to refrain from speculating as to the outcome of the trial and just let justice take its inexorable course.”
The day turned into a slow slog as lawyers tangled over procedural technicalities and court clerks scoured voluminous files for bits of evidence.
At one point, Estrada closed his eyes and appeared on the verge of dozing off.
Estrada was shown a check and Land Bank of the Philippines documents allegedly covering the transfer of P130 million worth of tobacco excise tax kickbacks from Ilocos Sur to Estrada’s camp.
“It’s the first time I’m seeing this. I have no knowledge of this, your honor,” Estrada replied.
His testimony was later adjourned for a week.
Mixed feelings
Estrada draped himself in symbolic patriotism, wearing a Barong Tagalog, a Philippine flag lapel pin and his trademark white wristband with the presidential seal.
“I have mixed feelings. I welcome this opportunity to present my side because I was denied that right in the impeachment trial when prosecutors walked out,” Estrada testified. “I was convicted in the streets.”
Estrada’s impeachment trial broke down in January 2001 when prosecutors were barred from presenting what they called a critical piece of evidence. Within hours, people massed for protests that forced him to leave the presidential palace.
Prosecutors allege Estrada amassed about P4 billion in illegal gambling payoffs, tax kickbacks and commissions stashed in secret bank accounts under the alias “Jose Velarde.” He also faces a perjury charge for allegedly underreporting his assets in 1999.
“We expect justice to be rendered fairly,” said Dante Jimenez, an anti-crime activist who sat inside the packed courtroom. “If there is a perception that it’s not, the danger is this might again divide the nation and cause trouble. The country will be watching.”
Chavit
The protests that forced Estrada to step down were partly led by then-vice president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who completed the remainder of his six-year term, then won the 2004 election.
Estrada blames his ouster on “a conspiracy of the elite, church leaders and thieving politicians.” Estrada’s camp on Tuesday released a 20-minute video that claimed the prosecution relied on paid witnesses and failed to prove its case.
Also attending the trial were Estrada’s two sons - including co-defendant Sen. Jinggoy Estrada - his wife, Sen. Loi Ejercito, and his daughter.
Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson, instrumental in exposing Estrada’s alleged links to illegal gambling, also was present.
“I am 100 percent sure he will lie. But he is an actor. He can very well fake it,” Singson said.
Mostly portraying roles as an underdog champion of the poor, Estrada parlayed his massive popularity into a springboard to a landslide election victory in 1998, pledging that the presidency would be “the greatest performance of my life.”
Reversal
Estrada’s reversal of fortune was as dramatic as his more than 100 films. Many of his followers hope for an end like those in his movies, where he emerges from near-death ordeals to triumph.
The trial started in October 2001. The prosecution rested two years later, after presenting 76 witnesses and more than 1,500 items of evidence.
Estrada’s lawyers say he is their 79th and final witness.
Estrada has been at the heart of Arroyo’s political troubles. Thousands of his followers tried to storm the presidential palace in May 2001 in what she called a failed power grab. Six died in the rioting. Estrada also has been linked to coup plots.
Estrada told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he would be ready for a political comeback if he is acquitted. (AP)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (March 23, 2006 issue)
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