Saturday, November 11, 2006
Estrada co-accused 'ready to face charge'
MANILA -- He had wanted to escape the political scene, but after five years of relative silence, former gambling consultant Charlie "Atong" Ang came back to the country on Friday to face the plunder charge filed against him.
Ang is a co-accused in the plunder charge filed against former President Joseph Estrada.
"I have learned a lot of things. Things I shouldn't have done, especially joining politics, I should not have stuck with it. That's the reason why I'm in trouble now. If I would go back to the past, I would say no," he told reporters a few hours after his arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Centennial Terminal early Friday morning.
Donning a bulletproof vest over a gray shirt and jeans, eyes still bloodshot from lack of sleep, Ang said he would rather focus on his plunder charge before the Sandiganbayan.
"I did not regret my affiliation with Estrada at first. Mainly because I was fond of him, we've been together for a long time. But this time, with all these happening and the problems that cropped up, I don't even know what's in my mind. I want peace of mind, what I should do, I will face it. Since I'm here now, I will see what will be the solution to my problem," he said told reporters in a press conference at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
Ang, however, refrained from divulging the identity of people who may want to silence him.
He also confirmed reports that Governor Luis "Chavit" Singson visited him in Las Vegas where he was on house arrest pending his extradition but he denied that they ever talked about the plunder case or that he will testify against Estrada.
Ang said he is not yet in a position to issue an affidavit to shed light on the mysterious disappearance of casino employee Edgardo Bentain and the 1995 alleged rubout of members of the kidnapping syndicate Kuratong Baleleng.
Ang was brought to the NBI following his two-hour closed-door meeting with Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr., wherein he expressed willingness to provide a lead in the Bentain and Kuratong cases.
Bentain reportedly leaked the video that showed Estrada playing baccarat with Ang at the Casino Filipino. The video was taken at the Casino Filipino of the former Silahis Hotel on Sept. 15, 1996.
On Jan. 16, 1999, Bentain, who operated the security cameras, was abducted by armed men in front of the hotel. He has not been heard from since. His family has asked government to solve the case.
The case of Kuratong Baleleng, on the other hand, implicated several police officers, including former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief now Senator Panfilo Lacson.
Gonzalez told reporters that there was no mention of Ang testifying in the plunder case of former President Estrada, adding that it may already be too late for that since the prosecution panel has already rested its case.
Ang is a co-accused of Estrada in the plunder case but Gonzalez said the possibilities are nil that the Sandiganbayan would reopen the case unless there is new evidence in his testimony.
Gonzalez said Ang would most likely be tried separately. "If he were here when Estrada was tried, their trial would have been simultaneous. But he was in America then," he said.
Gonzalez further said Ang's ties with former government officials under Estrada have made him a credible witness to various unresolved cases.
"He will execute an affidavit. But whatever knowledge he has must be corroborated," he said.
Arriving at around 5:30 a.m. at Naia, Ang was escorted by heavily armed agents of the NBI to their main office for fingerprinting and documentation.
Ang arrived without a passport and without access to a lawyer. But the NBI said there was no legal problem involving his lack of a passport as Ang was issued a one-way travel document to the Philippines.
Some 50 NBI personnel and 30 police and traffic personnel secured Ang's transfer from the airport to the NBI building, with 15 bullet-proof vehicles joining the convoy amid Ang's claims that his life is in danger.
NBI regional director Reynaldo Esmeralda said that Ang may have to spend the weekend at the cramped detention cell at the NBI, measuring about four square meters, depending on how soon the Sandiganbayan would release his commitment order.
"It might be one or two weeks, but that's still speculative. We will wait until the court rules on the place of detention," he said.
Esmeralda said that Ang preferred to be detained at the NBI detention center where he said he felt more secure.
Gonzalez said Ang's lawyer should make a manifestation with the Sandiganbayan to allow him to stay at the NBI compound.
"I think these threats are serious considering the circumstances of all the information he has been giving on other matters not necessarily on the issue of the plunder case but also on other cases that are still sleeping there," he said.
Malacañang, meanwhile, had assured that measures ensuring the safety and security of Ang would be accorded to him upon his return to the country.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the government would extend the protection that is allowed under existing rules and regulations to Ang.
Bunye, who is also Presidential spokesman, said as far as Malacañang is concerned, they are leaving the fate of Ang in the hands of the courts. (ECV/JMR/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Zamboanga. (November 11, 2006 issue)
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