JINGGOY: ERAP TO BE CONVICTED
MANILA, SEPTEMBER 11, 2007 (STAR) By Christina Mendez - Opposition Sen. Jinggoy Estrada said their family is “expecting the worst” when the Sandiganbayan Special Division hands down its verdict tomorrow on the plunder and perjury charges against his father, former President Joseph Estrada.The senator said they have received reports that the former president will likely be found guilty of plunder.
“We are prepared for whatever verdict the Sandiganbayan will come out with. But we are expecting the worst, because according to some reliable sources we have talked to and who have given us vital information, there is no way that my father can get an acquittal even though there is no evidence against him,” Jinggoy lamented.
“That is very disappointing. I still believe that justice will prevail and that the Sandiganbayan will remain independent. And I hope that the Sandiganbayan will base their decision on the merits of the case,” he added.
The elder Estrada himself is reportedly prepared for conviction.
“The President (Erap) will accept a conviction, although we believe it has political considerations. But the President will accept that, pending appeal. Anyway, we will appeal it to the Supreme Court,” said Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, Estrada’s lawyer-spokesman.
Members of the Estrada family have started a vigil at the family residence on Polk Street in Greenhills, San Juan to pray for a fair verdict on Estrada.
Jinggoy said his mother, Dr. Loi Estrada, and his siblings – Jackie Lopez and Jude Estrada – as well as close relatives and friends started the vigil yesterday.
“If people believe in one witness whose credibility is questionable, he should have won in the last elections. It came from a polluted source,” Jinggoy said, referring to chief witness for the prosecution former Ilocos Sur governor Luis Singson, who lost in the senatorial elections last May.
The former president and the senator are co-accused in the case, along with lawyer Eduardo Serapio.
Rodriguez clarified that the Estrada firmly believes he has already been acquitted by the Filipino masses.
“He has no plans to reclaim the presidency. And as he has said many times, he has already been acquitted by the people,” Rodriguez said, referring to the election of his wife Loi and their son Jinggoy to the Senate in 2001 and 2004, respectively.
“An acquittal will just be a bonus. And if it is acquittal, it will be a vindication on his part,” he added. But should it be the other way around, “we see the hand of the (Arroyo) administration influencing the Sandiganbayan.”
“So we have very clear paths, whether it will be conviction or acquittal. In both cases, there will be no destabilization attempts, no violence. If they go to the streets, then that is their constitutional right. But Erap said it should be peaceful,” Rodriguez stressed.
Mixed predictions
Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago said she favors that Estrada be acquitted of plunder charges but be found guilty of a lower charge.
Catholic bishops predicted the Sandiganbayan would hand down a guilty verdict.
Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz and Novaliches Bishop Emeritus Teodoro Bacani Jr. virtually questioned the credibility of the anti-graft court, which they alleged would be influenced by the Arroyo government.
Both Cruz and Bacani agreed with popular argument that an acquittal would be counterproductive to President Arroyo as well as the Catholic Church since it would vindicate the former president who was ousted through EDSA II People Power.
“If Estrada would be pronounced not guilty on whatever count, it means Arroyo was a bogus president from 2001 to 2004,” Cruz said.
“Also, if the former president would not be found guilty, why is the government on red alert and so busy preparing for security for the promulgation?” the prelate stressed.
Bacani shares the same fear, and added that an acquittal of Estrada would even have an implication on the Church, which supported his ouster and the installation into power of President Arroyo.
But Bacani, who served as spiritual adviser of Estrada during his three-year presidency, said he believes the former president is innocent.
Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal, on the other hand, raised the possibility of a hung jury.
Macalintal said there is a possibility that Sandiganbayan justices deliberating on the case may not be able to come up with a unanimous vote.
The law creating the Sandiganbayan provides that there must be unanimous decision in handling down a guilty or not guilty decision on cases pending before the tribunal.
“The vote must be 3-0, or no verdict at all,” Macalintal said.
In such a scenario Macalintal said a special division composed of five justices will be created to vote on whether to convict or acquit Estrada.
The special division will deliberate again on the case and a majority vote will be sufficient.
Special prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio agreed with the opinion of Macalintal that there must be a unanimous vote among the justices.
Villa-Ignacio, however, is certain that the anti-graft court has already reached a verdict since it has issued the notice of promulgation.
The special prosecutor said they have submitted 800 pages of documents to prove their case, compared to the defense’s more than 300 pages.
He said they will file a motion with the court to read only the findings because with more than 1,000 pages of documents, it is possible that the reading of the decision would last the whole day.
Hands off
It was quite surprising that militant groups like Bayan Muna and Akbayan, who were instrumental in Estrada’s ouster, have seemed to adopt a hands-off policy on the high-profile case.
“We will comment accordingly,” declared Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo. “Let’s wait for the ruling,” said his colleague Rep. Teddy Casiño.
Lone Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel, also a member of the House minority bloc, said any decision by the anti-graft court will be immaterial because the SC as an institution is actually more credible.
Deputy Minority Leader Roilo Golez of Parañaque clarified the House opposition does not have a unified position on the Estrada verdict issue.
He nevertheless highlighted the political ramifications of the case, considering that it is just three years away from the presidential elections and that nobody from the administration bloc seemed to have any candidate for president.
Neophyte administration lawmaker Adam Relson Jala of Bohol, meanwhile, dismissed allegations from Estrada’s camp that the government is laying the groundwork for the deposed leader’s assassination, saying this is just part of “disinformation and damage control.”
Stop promulgation
Lawyer Cirilo Avila, intervenor in the Estrada case, yesterday filed another petition before the Sandiganbayan Special Division in order to stop the promulgation of the P4.1-billion plunder case.
Avila, who filed a six-page “Supplemental Manifestation with Very Urgent and Ex Parte Motion to Recall Notice of Promulgation,” said judgment without the subject evidence being considered will not benefit the people at large.
Apply for pardon
Former President Estrada should be the one to take the initiative for a pardon if ever he is convicted by the Sandiganbayan, said Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Sergio Apostol.
“The normal process requires that the convicted should apply for pardon through the Department of Justice’s Board of Pardon and Parole,” he said.
The Board of Pardon and Parole (BPP) would be the one to make a recommendation on the application, which would then be transmitted to the Office of the President.
Apostol said that the President would not come out with an offer to pardon on her own and would just wait for the recommendation of the BPP.
He said that the issue of the former president, particularly regarding pardon, has never been taken up during Cabinet meetings.
Apostol also agreed that live coverage of the Sandiganbayan’s proceedings should not be allowed as a general rule.
Citing his experience as a trial court judge, Apostol pointed out that live coverage is “banned and prohibited in court.”
He noted that the judiciary adopts the American system which similarly does not allow live coverage.
The only way that live coverage would be allowed is for the concerned parties to file a petition before the Supreme Court for an exemption.
He explained that the reaction of the public might not be good when the verdict is broadcast live over national radio and television.
Senator Santiago had appealed for the reconsideration of the decision preventing media from covering the proceedings live.
Massive uprising and more
Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim warned that a guilty verdict by the Sandiganbayan on Estrada’s plunder case could not only lead to a massive uprising by the “masa” but could also cause the untimely death of the 102-year-old Mary Ejercito.
“As a people, our emotional attachments to our parents are very strong and vice versa. If ever the decision (of the anti-graft court) would be adverse, my fear is that if the mother of President Estrada gets wind of it, she might suffer a heart attack and die,” Lim said.
“To the poor people especially the masses, that is an altogether different story, that his mother died due to the decision,” he said.
“As far as I am concerned, if possible to simply serve deterrents or preventive measures all these things have to be considered,” Lim said.
Meanwhile, National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) director Reynaldo Varilla said they are prepared for any eventuality.
“We are ready whatever the decision may be. We are neutral and what we are going to do is simply to maintain peace for the progress of the country,” Varilla said.
Senators Francis Escudero and Francis Pangilinan advised the police and military to exercise maximum tolerance and restraint as they ensure order tomorrow.
“In the end, whatever the court decides, we believe that President Estrada must be accorded the respect and dignity of a former head of state, voted by our people to the highest seat of the land,” Pangilinan said. - Delon Porcalla, Edu Punay, Perseus Echeminada, Marvin Sy, Helen Flores, Sandy Araneta
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2007
by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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