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Thursday, March 30, 2006
Estrada says accuser got kickbacks from excise taxes
MANILA -- Detained former President Joseph Estrada has turned the table on the government's star witness during the second day of his testimony at the Sandiganbayan Special Division on the plunder and perjury cases filed against him.
Estrada, answering the direct examination conducted by lawyer Jose Flaminiano, disclosed in open court the various cases of alleged irregularities committed by former Ilocos Sur governor Luis "Chavit" Singson even before he became President in 1998.
In his defense to allegations that he diverted P130 million in tobacco excise taxes, Estrada claimed it was who had these various cases of diverting funds including that of tobacco excise taxes as per reports of the Commission on Audit
(COA).
"Lahat ng kasalanan niya ay pilit niyang ipinapasa sa akin (He is putting the blame on me for all his crimes)," Estrada told the court as gave the details of the anomalies that Singson had been linked involving government funds amounting to more than a billion pesos.
"Hindi pa po ako Pangulo noon, ito na po ang kanyang ginagawa (I wasn't even President yet, he was already into), falsification of public document and malversation of public funds," Estrada said as he detailed point-by-point the 11 cases of alleged irregularities committed by the former governor as early as 1997.
At the same time, Estrada denied claims made by Singson that the former President had ordered a cover up of unliquidated cash advances that the governor incurred over those years.
The former president cited results of evaluation of the evidence conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) dated October 16, 2000 in support of the COA reports on the Provincial Government of Ilocos Sur for the years 1997 and 1998.
Singson, according to Estrada, spent more than P435 million on the Tomato Paste Plant, which is non-functioning or non-operational project.
The same plant, he added, incurred a loss of P20.6 million as of June 30,1998, which the former President pointed out "happened even before I became the President."
Estrada also said Singson was allegedly involved in various counts of technical malversation involving hundreds of millions of pesos and suspension amounting to P684.7 million, of which only 14.59 percent was settled.
He was also allegedly involved in the anomaly on the tobacco flue curing barn amounting to P360 million, which include P170 million unliquidated cash advances intended for the purchase of equipment for the tobacco flue curing barn, Estrada said.
Not only that, Estrada said Singson was also allegedly involved in the overpriced construction of a food processing plant amounting to P170 million and in a ghost project -- Tobacco Stalk Playboard Plant Project.
Estrada said further that the province of Ilocos Sur has lost P17.5 million in 1998 because of the Multi-Line Food Processing Plant's failure to operate.
Another P9.8 million was given as livelihood assistance to the Philippine Industrial Livelihood Organization, which had no verifiable existing project.
"Therefore, the amount should have been refunded," the former President said.
There was also P5.1 million in calamity funds, which was spent allegedly to purchase rice and canned goods for beneficiaries which, according to the COA, were fictitious, and P2.2 million of the purchase of 19,2000 pieces of water jugs for tobacco farmers was conducted without public bidding, and there was no verifiable list of recipients.
As he continued to defend himself on the P130 million diversion of tobacco excise tax, Estrada told the court that he himself was the one who ordered the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate the alleged missing P130 million funds.
Estrada said he ordered the former justice secretary to look into the missing funds, and added he referred the matter to the NBI and the COA as well.
He even called Singson a liar for having claimed that he (Estrada) got the P130 million worth of tobacco excise tax kickbacks from his province in four boxes.
Estrada said a reenactment at the Central Bank showed that the money could not fit inside four boxes. "That goes to show that he is a liar," Estrada said.
Singson, who held a press conference during the lunch break, said the accusations leveled against him by the former President was simply nothing.
"They were trumped-up accusations to destroy my credibility. Kung totoo man ang mga iyan, di sana nagpaareglo na ako sa kanila. Lahat yan ay gawa-gawa lamang nila para i-pressure ako, para hindi na ako mag-testify against Erap (If that were true, I would have settled the matter out of court. Those are just being fabricated to pressure me not to testify against him)," he told reporters.
The Estrada camp believed that the former President scored in Wednesday's hearing when he "credibly point-by-point" destroyed the credibility of Singson.
His appearance and testimony at the Special Division Wednesday however was boosted by the presence of his family and friends, including his former Cabinet officials and government officials.
Among those who attended the hearing were former Estrada Cabinet officials Jose Pardo (finance), Benjamin Diokno (budget), Horacio Morales (agrarian reform), Mario Tiaoqui (energy), Alexander Aguirre (security adviser), and Ramon Cardenas (former deputy executive secretary).
Also present were Senator Alfredo Lim and Ilocos Norte Representative Imee Marcos, former chief justice Andres Narvasa, and former Quezon City mayor Ismael Mathay.
In the afternoon's proceeding, Estrada revealed that Singson had asked him to order the COA auditor assigned in Ilocos Sur to cover up the unliquidated cash advances that he incurred during the past year.
That meeting was held in the US during a visit of the former President in 2000. The meeting was in fact facilitated by their common friend, Caloocan City Representative Luis "Baby" Asistio, who in September last year testified for Estrada.
Estrada revealed that he was asked to interfere in the investigation conducted by the COA regarding Singson's irregularities concerning funds of the Ilocos Sur Provincial Government.
He wanted the COA auditor, the slain Augustin Chan Jr., removed from his province because he refused to "connive" with him but Estrada pointed out that he could never do that since the COA is an independent body.
It was Chan who exposed all the irregularities of Singson. Chan was assassinated at the time that the former President was already detained at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) and was being considered by defense as one of its major witnesses. (DBP/Sunnex)
(March 30, 2006 issue)
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