Special court to start Estrada trial on Monday

The newly-created special division of the Sandiganbayan handling the cases of former President Joseph Estrada has set the first day of the plunder trial for Monday.

In a one-page resolution, special division chairman Associate Justice Minita Nazario ordered plunder trial witness Ma. Socorro Yolanda de Leon to testify on Jan. 28 at 2 p.m. Other trial dates were Jan. 30 and Feb. 4, 6, 11, 13 at 8:30 a.m.

Copies of the resolution have been sent to Office of the Special Prosecutor and to the lawyers and law firms representing Estrada and other co-accused.

Nazario directed De Leon, a bank manager of Bank of the Philippine Islands, to bring with her bank documents in connection with a check for P189.7 million that allegedly represents Estrada’s profit commission in the sale of Belle Corp. stock shares.

In a related development, Estrada’s lawyers are set to ask the Supreme Court (SC) to reconsider the ruling that created the special division at the Sandiganbayan, citing the guarantee of equal protection under the Constitution.

Lawyers, led by former Sen. Rene Saguisag, said the creation of the special division as requested by the Sandiganbayan would give the impression that Estrada is being singled out among all other accused with pending cases before the country’s courts.

"This is setting a bad precedent... A temporary court to administer justice in specially pre-determined existing cases is contrary to the nature and character of judicial functions and the purpose of the administration of justice, which must be characterized by the independence of judicial officers..." Saguisag said.

Meanwhile, Puwersa ng Masa spokesman Jesus Crispin Remulla said the SC has already pointed out in its earlier landmark rulings that any rule or ordinance that singles out an individual exclusively and excludes other persons in similar situations is "a denial of his equal protection guarantee."

He added that the high tribunal has also ruled that a citizen must not be singled out by the law in order to favor or discriminate against him over and above all others.

Remulla noted there are other cases pending before the Sandiganbayan that are just as important and as compelling as those filed against Estrada, among them the protracted legal battle involving the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) and the Marcoses and their cronies, yet no special division has been created for them.

Equal protection, Remulla pointed out, is a vital element of due process, and unfair discrimination "offends the requirements of justice and fair play."

He noted the Sandiganbayan’s third division, the original court tasked to handle the Estradas’ plunder case, is also where a case against former First Lady Imelda Marcos is pending.

"Why no special court for Imelda Marcos whose case has been pending for 16 years?" he pointed out.

The SC has given a six-month deadline for the third division to resolve the case involving Mrs. Marcos, which makes it a more logical candidate for the creation of a special division, Remulla noted.

"Yet the Sandiganbayan has not asked the High Tribunal to create a court that will exclusively handle the former first lady’s criminal suit," he said. "The third division has countless cases crying for speedy adjudication, including one where it was ordered to dispose of the case against Imelda Marcos in six months. Will that case be assigned also to the new special court? What about the other cases in that division? We need to be careful that Erap is not seen as being treated as the new Yamashita."

Remulla also noted that the membership of the special division headed by Nazario, includes Justice Teresita de Castro, who has been petitioned by the Estradas’ legal counsels to inhibit herself from the cases against their client.

The defense lawyers have asked the Sandiganbayan to compel De Castro to inhibit herself from the proceedings of the plunder case for allegedly showing "obviously biased behavior" against Saguisag during the early part of the trial.

Remulla recalled that De Castro was the one who "vented her ire" on Saguisag after he asked to say something before the court. Remulla said De Castro later had him thrown out of the room where the Sandiganbayan third division holds its sessions.

According to Remulla, Saguisag had recalled that this never happened to him even during the martial law years and not even before military commissions.

De Castro, Remulla noted, has already lost the "cold neutrality of an impartial judge" when she displayed this behavior, and thus, must be excused from all other proceedings involving Estrada.

Tighter security in place at VMCC

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has virtually cordoned off the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMCC) following lapses that led to an unauthorized television interview of former President Estrada last week.

A new metal detector, surveillance cameras and an increased number of personnel at the pre-reception area are now in place at the military hospital in Quezon City, where the deposed leader and his son, former San Juan Mayor Jinggoy Estrada, are being detained while on trial for plunder, a non-bailable offense.

Also being enforced are stricter visiting rules, wherein only the immediate family of the two men are allowed to visit for limited periods of time.

Chief Superintendent Prospero Noble, who has been assigned to handle security at the VMCC, said the use of modern monitoring equipment was part of measures to improve overall security at the compound.

He explained that the new metal detector, similar to those used in airport terminals, would be replacing an outdated model earlier set up to screen Estrada’s visitors.

Noble admitted that tighter measures were implemented after a late night television show of a local network aired a lengthy interview of the former leader. The interviewer was able to smuggle a video camera inside the hospital room at a time when security at the VMCC was supposedly "very tight."

However, he doubted if the interview was conducted after he took over as head of police guards securing Estrada, saying it probably took place last Christmas.

"Just the same, the more they (Estradas) violate the rules of their confinement, the stricter the security will be at the VMCC," Noble said.

He said visitors will now be required to submit themselves to a body search at a reception area set up at the ground floor of the hospital. All their personal effects will also be subjected to security checks.

Early this year, a police general, his two deputies and the original police guards of Estrada were replaced after they allowed the former President to hold a Christmas party with his family, friends and political allies inside the hospital room.

Sacked was Chief Superintendent Danilo Flores of the Police Security Police Office. He was immediately replaced by Noble. – With Jaime Laude