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Tuesday, November 18, 2003
Arroyo endorses Erap's US treatment
MANILA--President Arroyo endorsed on Monday a petition by her detained predecessor Joseph Estrada seeking leave from his corruption trial for medical treatment in the United States.
Government lawyers, acting as prosecutors in the historic plunder trial of Estrada, said they will still oppose the ousted leader's bid to have his knees operated in the United States.
A step to reconciliation, Malacaņang also assured the Estrada camp that the deposed president would be allowed to come back once he has left the US for his knee surgery.
Estrada has asked a special anti-graft court to allow him to seek treatment in the United States for severe arthritis.
Arroyo "sees it in the public interest to adopt a policy of humanitarian compassion for a former president, given his reported condition," her spokesman, Ignacio Bunye, said in a statement.
"This is a sincere gesture and it is unfair to read politics into it," Bunye said, reacting to accusations by critics that the move was politically motivated ahead of the May 2004 elections, with Estrada still a popular figure.
The statement stressed though that Arroyo left it to the court to rule on Estrada's request.
"The executive has simply laid down a viewpoint on a public issue and has never interfered with the decisions of the court," Bunye said.
Estrada was ousted by a popular revolt in 2001 amid a corruption scandal. He was replaced by Arroyo, then the vice president.
He faces life in prison if convicted of corruption, but remains popular among the majority poor and is still the de facto opposition leader.
Last week, Arroyo called for national reconciliation after the Philippines narrowly avoided a constitutional crisis over an attempt by allies of Estrada to impeach Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide Jr.
Although the crisis was averted, some 10,000 of Estrada's supporters, mostly urban poor, demonstrated in the heart of Manila's financial district last week, calling for Arroyo's ouster.
Police used teargas and water cannon to disperse the protests that Arroyo allies said were part of a plot to destabilize the government.
A military revolt against Arroyo's rule in July had dampened investor confidence in the Philippines.
Arroyo's senior aide Cabinet Secretary Ricardo Saludo clarified in a statement that Arroyo was not considering any out-of-court settlement on cases against parties with which it was seeking reconciliation.
He said "reconciliation shall advance the cause of justice and the common good."
Arroyo's fence-mending feelers are reportedly being sent out to all her rivals, including the camps of former presidents Joseph Estrada and Ferdinand Marcos as well as businessman Eduardo Cojuangco.
They also include opposition Senators Panfilo Lacson and Gregorio Honasan, who, like San Miguel Corp. chairman Cojuangco, are all potential Arroyo rivals in the May presidential vote.
Both the Marcos family, as well as Cojuangco, face civil and criminal suits over wealth allegedly embezzled from state coffers during the rule of Marcos who died in US exile in 1989--three years after a popular revolt ended his 20-year rule.
Honasan could be prosecuted for allegedly masterminding a July 27 military revolt, while the government plans to appeal a court ruling that threw out a criminal case against Lacson involving the alleged murder of a gang of bank robbers in the early 1990s.
Against US trip
Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-ignacio said court-appointed lawyers of Estrada are constrained to present evidence that would reverse the previous ruling of the Sandiganbayan.
"That is not the way to do it in the Sandiganbayan... (Estrada's) lawyers must present evidence that could reverse the court's previous ruling," he said.
In an interview, Villa-ignacio said the court and prosecution do not oppose Estrada's knee operation provided that it would be done in the country.
"The prosecution insists that the operation should be done here since they (Estrada's lawyers) have no evidence to show that he (Estrada) needs to be operated on in the U.S.," he said.
Villa-ignacio disclosed that neither President Arroyo nor any of her emissaries has pressured them to toe the line of the President.
"Categorically there are no pressures, no emissaries, we have not gotten in touch with (Housing Secretary) Mike (Defensor)," he said.
Villa-ignacio said they would maintain to oppose the knee operation of Estrada abroad to defend their integrity and independence as a Constitutional collegial body.
"We will, in no way, be persuaded since it might undermine our independence and also that of the Sandiganbayan," he said.
Senate support
Three Senators have expressed their support for the move of Malacaņang to allow Estrada to undergo knee surgery in the United States.
According to opposition Senator Edgardo Angara, the move is more of a humanitarian deed than a political strategy, adding that the medical treatment is long overdue.
"We are not talking about the merit of the case. We are talking about the medical condition of the accused, so it is a legitimate subject of comment," Angara said.
Senator Noli de Castro also expressed support for the stand of Malacaņang that to him is done in the spirit of the Yuletide season.
De Castro added he was one of the legislators who earlier filed a resolution allowing Estrada to be treated abroad.
The senator does not see any adverse repercussions on this plan, and believes Estrada would not try to escape or evade justice.
Even Senator Manny Villar said he sees no problem if Estrada is allowed to seek treatment abroad, if it is necessary.
But Senate President Franklin Drilon and Senator Francis Pangilinan said Malacaņang should not interfere in a matter that is under the jurisdiction of the court.
Drilon said Malacaņang is free to express its opinion but should not influence the decision of the Sandiganbayan since the case of the former president is not under the executive branch.
"The court will decide not on the basis of the opinion of the President but on the basis of evidence presented in court," Drilon added.
Pangilinan added Malacanang should refrain from issuing statements on the issue as the matter is still pending before the courts and because such statements are also prohibited under the sub judice rule.
Return to RP
Meanwhile, Malacanang assured that Estrada would be allowed to return to the Philippines if the Sandiganbayan gives him the go-signal to seek medical treatment in the US.
Saludo said the Estrada camp's fears are "unwarranted" because government wants the former president to come back to face the plunder charges against him in court.
He said President Arroyo's statement that Estrada's humanitarian concerns should be taken into account is part of her principled reconciliation policy.
"We believe that this position is something that if it works with reconciliation will be for the good of the people and we believe that people in the civil society who do want to see the good of the nation advance will see the wisdom of seeking reconciliation," he said.
He assured that any reconciliation will have to go hand in hand with justice and the law.
However, he said it would be the Sandiganbayan, not Arroyo, who will decide whether Estrada should be allowed to leave for the US. He said the matter is out of Malacaņang's hands because the prosecutors are under the Office of the Ombudsman, which is an independent agency.
Saludo also branded as part of "politicking" the observations that Arroyo's expression of sympathy to Estrada is a ploy to woo his supporters for the 2004 elections.
"This is a sincere gesture and it is unfair to read politics into it...The Executive has simply laid down a viewpoint on a public issue, and has never interfered with the decisions of the court," presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said.
He said although Davao City Archbishop Fernando Capalla, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, has agreed to lead reconciliation efforts, he has not undertaken any major dialogue.
"The President has said that there should be a dignified admission of wrongdoing, as well as substantial restitution. Thus, reconciliation shall advance the cause of justice and the common good," he added.
In a press conference in Sta. Cruz, Laguna late Monday afternoon, Arroyo refused to talk about her position on the Estrada issue, specifically on the Palace's alleged pressure on the Sandiganbayan.
"I have asked my presidential spokesman Toting Bunye to speak for me. I will not add anymore to what Bunye has already said," she repeatedly said. (SCT with AFP)
(November 18, 2003 issue)
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