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Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Ousted President denies using youth foundation to launder gambling money (12:10 p.m.)
MANILA -- Ousted President Joseph Estrada, testifying at his five-year-old plunder trial Wednesday, denied allegations that he established his Muslim Youth Foundation to launder proceeds from illegal gambling.
Estrada, 69, who was ousted in a 2001 "people power" revolt, took the witness stand for the fifth time in the country's anti-graft court, where about 60 supporters chanting "Free Joseph Estrada" greeted him.
Prosecutors allege Estrada amassed about P4 billion (US$77 million; euro63 million) from illegal gambling payoffs, tax kickbacks and commissions stashed in secret bank accounts under an alias. He also faces a perjury charge for allegedly underreporting his assets in 1999.
Estrada said his foundation, which was organized to provide scholarships for Muslim youths, received donations from people, many of whom wanted to remain anonymous. He said he was too embarrassed to ask donors for the source or nature of their money.
He said the only thing that mattered was for the money to reach the disadvantaged youth. He quoted late Roman Catholic Cardinal Jaime Sin as saying, "I don't care whether the money comes from the devil as long as it helps the poor."
Estrada again turned the tables against the prosecution star witness, Luis "Chavit" Singson, a provincial governor and former friend, who had earlier testified that Estrada gave instructions in a meeting at the presidential palace to give the money from the illegal popular numbers game called jueteng to the foundation.
"That meeting never transpired," Estrada told the court.
He claimed it was Singson who donated P200 million (US$3.9 million; euro3.1 million) from jueteng proceeds to the foundation. When he found out about it, Estrada said he instructed that the money be returned.
In his previous testimonies, he also rebuked charges that he took P545 million (US$10.6 million; euro8.7 million) in payoffs to protect illegal gambling operators.
Earlier Wednesday, the court granted a motion by lawyers of Estrada's son and co-accused, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, for him to travel to Hong Kong on May 4-8 for meetings with Filipino workers.
Jinggoy Estrada is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Labor.(AP) |
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