Government to use Estrada waiver before Supreme Court

The government may use the reply of former President Joseph Estrada to the plunder charges set to be filed by the Office of the Ombudsman before the Sandiganbayan to prove that he has lost his presidential immunity from criminal prosecution.

"We will most likely use it against him and we will include it in our pleading when we file our comment to the Supreme court," Justice Secretary Hernando Perez said.

Perez and Solicitor General Simeon Marcelo will meet soon to prepare the government’s comment on Estrada’s motion for a reconsideration of a Supreme Court ruling that the disgraced leader has lost the presidency.

The two officials are expected to finish the reply over the weekend to meet the 10-day deadline set by the High Tribunal.

Perez shrugged off Estrada’s declaration that he was filing his reply on the accusations against him "without prejudice" to his petitions.

Government lawyers said the deposed president should not have filed his counter-affidavit as it would be tantamount to admitting that he has lost his immunity from suits.

In his original petitions filed with the High Tribunal, Estrada maintained that he was still the duly elected president, adding that Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was merely serving as acting president.

Estrada argued that he never relinquished his post, was never incapacitated, and therefore, remained president.

Ombudsman Aniano Desierto said Estrada’s submission of the counter-affidavit meant he was waiving his immunity.

In his sworn statement, the 63-year-old former matinee idol insisted that he never intervened in the operations of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and the Social Security System (SSS).

Estrada branded as "baseless, inconsistent and full of lies" allegations by former GSIS general manager Federico Pascual and SSS chairman Carlos Arellano that he forced them to invest heavily in Belle Corp., operator of the jai alai fronton in Manila.

Estrada also described as suspicious the motives of Pascual and Arellano, along with businessman Mark Jimenez and Belle director William Ocier, in testifying against him.

The statements of the four prospective witnesses were used as basis for the filing of an eighth plunder charge against Estrada.

The ousted president insisted that the GSIS and SSS exposure in Belle was purely a corporate decision made upon approval of the two agencies’ investment departments.

"Similar to what the GSIS did, the purchase of Belle shares by SSS was done upon the approval of its investment department, not me. The investment was a company decision and I did not have anything to do with it," Estrada said. –Delon Porcalla, Mayen Jaymalin