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Thursday, May 25, 2006
Estrada admits signing as Velarde in bank records
MANILA -- Detained former President Joseph Estrada on Wednesday confessed before the Sandiganbayan Special Division that he indeed signed bank documents as Jose Velarde.
But he was quick to add that mere signing bank documents containing as much as P3.2 billion at one time does not necessarily mean that he owned the account.
Testifying for the sixth time at the Special Division to answer allegations of plunder and perjury, Estrada said the account with the Equitable PCI bank did not belong to him but to businessman Jaime Dichavez.
Although he admitted signing documents using the Jose Velarde alias, he told the court that he just acted as guarantor to a P500 million loan that businessman William Gatchalian was borrowing from Dichaves and his group.
Estrada, after more than a two-week break from trial, denied the prosecution's claim that he unjustly enriched himself from commissions, gifts, shares, percentages, kickbacks or any other form of pecuniary benefits and deposited the same in the account at Equitable PCI Bank (EPCIB).
At the same time, he denied that he connived with Dichaves in committing one of the four specific charges in the P4.1 billion plunder case filed against the deposed leader.
"Sir, I do not own the Jose Velarde account. I have never or will never connive with any person or persons for any illegal purpose or purposes," Estrada said while being examined by defense lawyer Jose Flaminiano.
Estrada said Dichaves himself said the Jose Velarde account belonged to him and this was confirmed by the testimonies of two former officials of Equitable PCI Bank.
The defense earlier presented former bank senior vice president and treasurer Romuald Dy Tang and first bank president Beatriz Bagsit to deny claims of the prosecution that Estrada owned the Velarde account.
They told the court that it was Dichaves who opened and handled the controversial account.
Estrada said Dichaves's ownership of the controversial account was also established in the August 25, 1999 letter of Dichaves to Dy Tang, which is contained in the so-called "second envelope".
In his letter to Dy Tang, Dichaves said all banking transactions relative to the Jose Velarde account should be coursed through him.
It will be recalled that the prosecutors in Estrada's impeachment trial five years ago walked out after 11 senators voted against the opening of the second envelope.
After the walkout, the people started to gather on Edsa calling for Estrada's ouster and this eventually led to his removal.
Nearly a month after Estrada's ouster on January 20, 2001, then Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr. opened the second envelope in the presence of former Ombudsman Aniano Desierto and some senators.
Estrada said he felt vindicated when the contents of the second envelope showed that Dichaves was the one who opened the Jose Velarde account.
"That confirms only two things. First, it was Mr. Jaime Dichaves who owned the Jose Velarde account. Second, I had nothing to do with the Jose Velarde account," Estrada told the court.
The 69-year-old ousted leader also confirmed the testimony of prosecution witnesses Clarissa Ocampo and Manuel Curato that they were in Malacañang on February 4, 2000.
Ocampo, then senior vice president of Equitable, had testified that she was a foot away from Estrada when the former President signed bank documents using the alias of Jose Velarde. The bank documents included an investment management agreement, signature cards, investment guidelines, directional letters and debit-credit authority.
Curato corroborated Ocampo's testimony. He was then the bank's vice president for legal affairs.
Estrada said two days before February 4, 2000, Dichaves informed him that the two bank executives were coming and would bring with them some documents for his signature.
He said he and Dichaves had agreed that he would sign the documents to make it appear that he owned the Jose Velarde account to ensure that Gatchalian will pay the loan.
The deposed president said he agreed to the request of Dichaves to act as the owner of account in order to help Gatchalian and his employees who might lose their jobs if their boss won't secure the much-needed loan.
Estrada also said that he did not think twice before signing the documents since no government funds were involved in the transaction.
Meanwhile, Estrada disputed allegations by the prosecution panel that he lied about his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) for the year 1998.
The prosecution said the ex-leader has lied about his SALN where he only declared over P35 million, including a total of P5.03 million of cash on hand and in banks and business interests in three corporations.
The prosecution had claimed that Estrada had P57 million in three banks and interests in nine other corporations.
"Since I became a public official, I always religiously file my statement of assets and liabilities every ear. Those charges are false. I deny the charges against me," Estrada said.
He added: "I do not personally do my SALN. I ask my staff to do it for me but I always tell them to comply with the law."
Nevertheless, Estrada said he did not include the nine corporations in his 1998 SALN because all of them were already closed even before he became senator.
Estrada said he also did not declare the money deposited in Security Bank and Keppel Bank because it consists of campaign contributions for his political party, Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino, during the 1998 and 2001 elections, respectively. (DBP/Sunnex)
(May 25, 2006 issue)
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