Estrada makes bid for Lenten retreat

Jailed former President Joseph Estrada would like to have a retreat on Good Friday in his resthouse in Tanay, Rizal together with members of his immediate family. But he is ashamed to ask permission from the Sandiganbayan.

In an interview with reporters in his temporary detention at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City, Estrada said he has devotedly observed the Lenten season with a retreat in his small resthouse at Camp Capinpin in Tanay, along with his wife, Sen. Luisa Ejercito, and his family.

This developed as Estrada asked Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin to desist from meddling with the purely political and government affairs of the country.

"I’d like to request the (Sandiganbayan special division) court which is headed by Associate Justice Minita Chico-Nazario to allow me to go to my small resthouse in Camp Capinpin in Tanay. But I was ashamed. I planned to write Justice Nazario to allow me to have a retreat there with my family but I got ashamed," Estrada said.

Estrada said he bought the resthouse in 1970 and has since then observed the Lenten season there with a retreat. "My resthouse is just a little away from the Daranak Falls. It has a swimming pool," he said.

Estrada is turning one year in jail since he was arrested last April 25 on plunder charges.

He said that God may have a purpose why he was made to step down from Malacañang on Jan. 20 last year.

Estrada said he will still have a retreat inside the VMMC assisted by three priests including Frs. Sonny Ramirez, Larry Paraon and Rogelio Alarcon. He will also make his confession during the retreat.

He said that Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal will be visiting him after the Holy Week which he believes is "an opportune time for me to get spiritual guidance."

Estrada said the continuous meddling of Cardinal Sin in government affairs and his violations of the separation of Church and State are hampering the country’s economic takeoff.

Estrada said Cardinal Sin has an ax to grind against him, stemming from Estrada’s refusal to block the approval of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

"Cardinal Sin sent to me Bishop Quevedo (of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines) to inform me that (he) wants to block the VFA. He told me that when I was still a senator, I was a staunch opponent of the US bases ... in the country. I turned down the request of Cardinal Sin. I explained to Bishop Quevedo that the VFA, unlike the US bases, is not permanent," Estrada said.

He also told Bishop Quevedo that the VFA is important to enabling the Armed Forces of the Philippines to effectively defend the country in case of external attacks.

"Bishop Quevedo told me the Catholic hierarchy is concerned over the possible proliferation of prostitution in the country. But I told them that prostitutes will always be there as long as there is poverty in the country," Estrada said.

Estrada also confided that Cardinal Sin, through Bishop Quevedo and Cardinal Vidal, asked his administration to implement a ceasefire with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Mindanao.

"I turned it down also. I told Bishop Quevedo and Cardinal Vidal that while we are talking peace with the MILF, they continue burning churches in Mindanao. I let them see the tapes showing members of the Muslim rebels cutting the heads of their hostages. They cried. I told them that it is also my duty to protect our innocent brothers from our monster brothers," Estrada said.

‘I’d rather be a cripple’

In another development, Estrada said yesterday he will not testify in the Sandiganbayan in connection with his motion to be allowed to undergo knee surgery in the US.

In an interview with reporters in his temporary detention at VMMC, Estrada also confirmed that the government is persuading his US-based knee surgeon, Dr. Christopher Mow, to conduct his operation in the country.

"No way. I leave it to them. I’m determined to give my life for them to execute. How much more my knees. Bahala nang malumpo (I’d rather be a cripple)," Estrada said.

He said the testimonies of the doctors being summoned by the anti-graft court special division chaired by Associate Justice Nazario and the copies of x-rays submitted in court by radiology technologists from the VMMC would be enough basis for the court to allow him to undergo knee surgery in the US.

"I’m not a doctor anyway to talk (about this) in court," he said.

Estrada confirmed that Mow, who is based in Stanford University Medical Center in the US, is being persuaded by Philippine Ambassador the US Alberto del Rosario to conduct Estrada’s knee operation in the Philippines.

"Dr. Mow called up my personal doctor Larry Hocson and told him that he (Mow) was persuaded by Del Rosario to write a letter dated March 15 expressing his desire to come to the country to conduct the operation on my knees," Estrada said

He said that Del Rosario is also suffering from arthritis and had undergone a knee operation in the country.

"Dr. Mow has been my doctor for two years. He recently advised me to avoid steroid injections because these have adverse side effects," Estrada said.

He said that Dr. Mow is afraid to come to the country due to the rampant kidnappings . "And isn’t there a travel advisory banning Americans from traveling to the Philippines?"

Estrada also explained that his knee operation involves precision. "If (another) doctor commits a point zero error in the replacement of my joints, I’ll be crippled," Estrada said.

Moreover, he said, Mow can’t stay long enough in the country to do the one to two months’ observation and therapy on his knees after the operation. Mow has many patients in the US and he would lose big earnings if he stayed here for two months.

Estrada said that Dr. Mow had advised him to undergo knee operations when he was still running for vice president. "He said that my knees would have to be amputated and replaced with artificial knee joints. My brother immediately scheduled the operation... But I got afraid."

In his March 15 letter to Del Rosario, Dr. Mow said he was willing to explore the feasibility of doing the surgery in the Philippines, "if amenable" to Estrada.

But he was clear about not wanting to testify in court. "The Ombudsman has clearly indicated his intention to subpoena me to testify before the Sandiganbayan should I be in the Philippines. Obviously, this is unacceptable to me and cannot be allowed to occur if I am to come for the purposes of an evaluation of the patient and inspection of the available facilities," Mow said.

Mow also asked Del Rosario to allow him to augment the security to be provided by the government by bringing along his "own private security consultant, one in particular who is quite familiar with this line of work in the Philippines."