Ani raps Sandigan ruling on Estrada trial

State prosecutors are poised to ask the Supreme Court (SC) to overturn a Sandiganbayan ruling barring them from presenting witnesses in the perjury case against former President Joseph Estrada.

Ombudsman Aniano Desierto, who spearheaded the filing of the charges against Estrada, said the decision handed down last Monday by Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Francis Garchitorena was an "injustice."

Desierto said Garchitorena virtually exonerated Estrada on the perjury charge by preventing the prosecution from presenting witnesses.

In his decision, Garchitorena emphasized that the evidence sought to be presented did not support the original charge.

The government lawyers were supposed to present two witnesses to testify that the fallen leader maintained deposits in two banks containing a total of about P74 million.

Garchitorena cut off the proceeding, saying the accounts were not mentioned in the charge sheet.

He said the document contained only the names of five corporations where Estrada held some shares.

Garchitorena blamed the prosecution for allegedly coming to the trial ill-prepared.

The perjury case stemmed from allegations that Estrada falsified his statement of assets and liabilities for 1999 by claiming his net worth was P35 million when in fact he had more.

But the prosecutors failed to satisfy the court which wanted a specific figure on how much Estrada should have stated to show that he in fact lied, Garchitorena said.

He also pointed out that the prosecutors had admitted that there was no clear connection between Estrada and the corporations named in the charge sheet.

"We got to do things by the book and by the number. We got to do it right if we are going to send a man to jail... if we are going to deprive a man of his liberty, of his life, his property. It’s got to be done right," Garchitorena said.

"In any case that you file, please make sure that you got your facts and evidence right. Don’t come in galloping and coming out all very glamorous when you know darn well that you haven’t got the cases done right," Garchitorena told the prosecutors on national television.

Meanwhile, sectoral Rep. Crispin Beltran chided President Arroyo for bragging during her foreign trips about her administration’s campaign against corruption in government.

Beltran said the Arroyo administration has not caught any "big fish."

He also said the prosecution of the graft cases against Estrada before the Sandiganbayan is a "crucial test" for the Arroyo government’s drive against corruption.

"There is really nothing to crow about. The chances of Estrada and Jinggoy (Estrada) being punished for plunder, perjury and corruption grow thinner and thinner every time," Beltran said.

He alleged that the President was "beholden" to the police and the military, and was being soft on the scalawags (in uniform) who are involved in kidnapping and other crimes.

"She is beholden to these two organizations. In fact, she continues to woo their support," Beltran said.

The militant legislator, who is also chairman of the left-leaning Kilusang Mayo Uno, twitted Mrs. Arroyo for advocating at the World Economic Forum’s East Asia summit in Hong Kong that "the world has to tackle poverty to root out the cause of terrorism."

He said the President should start the fight against poverty at home.

"What’s happening in the Philippines is state-sponsored structural terrorism as the national government continues to disregard the workers’ clamor for relief from the effects of the shrinking peso, soaring inflation, repressive tax measures, and the generally flawed economic framework and policies," Beltran said.

In another development, the militant group Plunder Watch renewed its verbal attack on Garchitorena, saying he was "practically lawyering" for Estrada.

"The whole point of the trial is to determine whether Estrada lied in his 1999 statement of assets and liabilities. It is not important if he lied by P1 million or P75 million. The point is, he lied," the group said in a statement.

Plunder Watch convenor Fr. Jose Dizon said the main issue in the case was whether Estrada deliberately told a lie.

"Based on the two bank accounts to be presented yesterday, he did. The amount in the accounts is not important to prove this crucial point," Dizon added.

Another cause-oriented group called Pamalakaya threatened to stage more protest actions once the SC declares the plunder law unconstitutional.

At the same time, Pamalakaya urged the people to maintain their vigilance against a possible turn of events "that would reverse the verdict or downplay the gains and spirit of People Power 2."

"If that happens, People Power 2 activists will flood the street with protests. They will literally paint the town red to denounce the reversal of history and would stage mammoth rallies against failure of justice system to prosecute super criminals like ex-President Estrada," the Pamalakaya said in a statement.

‘Senate bill will strengthen cases against Estrada’

Sen. Joker Arroyo said a bill pending in the Senate could strengthen the cases against Estrada.

Senate Bill 1543 filed by Sen. Francis Pangilinan allows private lawyers to assist the Ombudsman in prosecuting cases against government officials.

Arroyo said the performance of state prosecutors in the cases against Estrada underscored the necessity of passing the bill allowing the Ombudsman to hire competent private lawyers.

The measure cited the assistance of private lawyers as a major reason government prosecutors managed to carry on during the impeachment trial of Estrada. — Jess Diaz, Sandy Araneta, Aurea Calica, Jose Rodel Clapano