Estrada trial’s live coverage pushed

The Department of Justice (DOJ) will ask the Supreme Court (SC) to allow live and full media coverage of ousted President Joseph Estrada’s trial before the Sandiganbayan.

Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño said they have already made the draft petition to the SC, but the document had to be reviewed first by Justice Secretary Hernando Perez.

Zuño said the plea may be filed before the High Tribunal "anytime this coming week."

The Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) has also formally sought the permission of Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. for full media coverage of the forthcoming proceedings, similar to the coverage given to the impeachment trial of Estrada which abruptly ended last Jan. 16.

In turn, Davide gave Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Francis Garchitorena five days upon receipt of his order to comment on the request of the KBP, whose membership covers all radio and television networks in the country.

Garchitorena has said he would not open the Estrada trial to the public unless the SC allows it, and that he will abide by any decision the tribunal would make on the matter.

Perez said unlimited media coverage of the trial would be the best guarantee that Estrada would get a fair and impartial trial, and at the same time apprise the public on the extent of evidence the prosecution has against the respondents.

"Transparency is absolutely essential for that reason and for the fact that the public is entitled to information. We also want to disabuse the minds of Estrada supporters that the charges are being railroaded," Perez said.

Estrada has accused the Arroyo administration of convicting him through trial by publicity.

Ombudsman Aniano Desierto reacted by saying he would prefer the trial to be covered by the media.

Perez said the prosecution panel, led by the Ombudsman and assisted by lawyers from the DOJ and the Office of the Solicitor General, would be akin to the prosecution team in the failed impeachment trial.

The once immensely popular 64-year-old former movie actor is facing four graft cases and one count each of perjury, illegal use of a fictitious name, violation of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and the capital offense of plunder.

With plunder being non-bailable, Estrada stands to be jailed during his trial.

Among those cited as Estrada’s co-accused in the plunder case were his son San Juan Mayor Jinggoy Estrada, former presidential lawyer Edward Serapio, crony Charlie "Atong" Ang, his personal auditor Yolanda Ricaforte, and Ang’s assistants identified as Alma Alfaro and Eleuterio Tan.

Ombudsman: We submitted reports

Meanwhile, the Office of the Ombudsman belied reports that it failed to submit evidence to substantiate its charges against the former president.

In a statement, the Ombudsman said it turned over to the Sandiganbayan 29 folders consisting of documentary evidence on April 4, the day the charges were formally filed before the anti-graft court.

Director Pelagio Apostol of the Evaluation and Preliminary Investigation Bureau, a member of the Ombudsman special preliminary investigation panel on the Estrada cases, asserted that he personally supervised the reproduction of the complete set of evidence, which included all the complaints, witnesses’ affidavits, bank and other relevant documents, and transcripts of the impeachment proceedings.

Desierto clarified that if the Ombudsman did not want a consolidation of the evidence and to allow instead the charges to remain distributed among the five Sandiganbayan divisions, which may necessitate the submission of four more sets of documentary evidence, his office would willingly comply with the requirements.

Desierto added, however, that it was only through the newspapers that they learned of the justices’ need for additional sets of documentary evidence.