ERAP DEFENSE WITNESS ATTACKS CHAVIT'S CREDIBILITY
MANILA, September 21 , 2004 (STAR) By Delon Porcalla - A government auditor debunked yesterday the allegations of Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson that ousted President Joseph Estrada had misused P130 million in tobacco taxes allocated for Ilocos Sur.
Testifying for the defense during Estrada’s plunder trial before the Sandiganbayan, 55-year-old lawyer Agaton Dacayanan said the prosecution’s star witness lied when he told the special division that he had no unliquidated cash advances.
Dacayanan, Ilocos Sur provincial auditor from 1995 to 1999, said the Ilocos Sur government did not strictly comply with the rules of the Commission on Audit (COA) regarding the granting of loans
"We noticed that COA circular was not followed," he said.
"The COA findings cast doubts on the implementation of the projects on funds sourced from the tobacco excise tax."
Singson had received unliquidated cash advances amounting to some P8,000 from the Ilocos Sur provincial government between 1995 and 1999, he added.
Former senator Rene Saguisag, Estrada’s lead counsel, said Singson could have woven a complex web of lies to implicate Estrada in a desperate attempt to escape the relenting pressure from auditor Agustin Chan of the COA to liquidate his cash advances.
Chan was murdered in Ilocos Sur in 2001, and Singson remains the principal suspect, he added.
Saguisag said the theory of the defense is that Singson was motivated to testify against Estrada because he wants to get control over jueteng operations in Northern Luzon, particularly Ilocos Sur.
"The purpose of the defense lawyers is to impeach the credibility of Singson," he said.
"Nothing could be relevant because President Estrada was charged with plunder, which is punishable by death, and you don’t convict someone based on the uncorroborated testimony of someone whom a Nevada judge described as demonstrably corrupt."
Saguisag said defense lawyers intend to identify various documents through Dacayanan to show that Estrada had not misused funds allocated for Ilocos Sur under Republic Act 7171.
To establish this, the defense has subpoenaed the annual report of Ilocos Sur for five years, covering the period Dec. 31, 1995 to Dec. 31, 1999, he added.
Raymund Fortun, another Estrada lawyer, said Dacayanan’s testimony will impeach Singson as a credible witness against Estrada.
"This shows that Chavit is injudicious in the handling of funds," he said.
On the other hand, Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa Ignacio said the government is unfazed by the testimony of Dacayanan.
"These are transactions in 1995," he said.
"What Chavit testified on were transactions in 1998. We can’t understand why they have to present that. At this point, the testimony of Chavit remains very solid. Besides, Chavit didn’t deny there was an attempt to cover up."
Dacayanan’s testimony was "irrelevant and immaterial" to Singson’s testimony, he added.
Dacayanan was the second defense witness to take the stand since the Estrada’s plunder trial resumed last Monday.
The first witness was Senate legal counsel David Yap, who testified that the so-called second envelope, which was not opened during the impeachment trial, showed that the controversial Jose Velarde account belong to businessman Jaime Dichaves, an associate of Estrada.
Yap’s testimony has been put on hold as the defense is still awaiting the production of a few more documents from the Senate Impeachment Court.
Hearing Estrada’s plunder trial were Justices Edilberto Sandoval, Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, and Francisco Villaruz.
Reported by: Sol Jose Vanzi
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