‘Estrada is not Jose Velarde’

A court-appointed counsel of Joseph Estrada said yesterday the former president had merely acted as a representative of the real Jose Velarde when he signed at least five documents of the Equitable PCI Bank.

Prospero Crescini, one of the 13 counsels de officio appointed by the Sandiganba-yan special division to represent Estrada in the five criminal cases against him, including the capital offense of plunder, said the defense panel was able to establish yesterday that Estrada is not Jose Velarde.

Crescini, citing the testimony of lawyer Manuel Curato, first vice president and legal services division chief of the Equitable PCI Bank, pointed out that Estrada signed on Feb. 4, 2000 the name Jose Velarde under the printed words "the principal(s) by" in the bank’s Investment Management Agreement (IMA).

"The word ‘by’ says it all. The meaning of ‘by’ in the document is that it is signed by someone who is representing somebody. Estrada signed under the word ‘by’. I suppose he signed as representative. We already established that there is no illegal use of alias," Crescini said.

He added that Estrada’s friend businessman Jaime Dichaves, who is the subject of a warrant of arrest by the anti-graft court special division chaired by Associate Justice Minita Chico-Nazario, had admitted that he owned the multimillion-peso accounts in Equitable-PCI Bank registered under the name Jose Velarde.

"But I don’t think there is a need to present Dichaves," Crescini said.

In a separate interview, Solicitor General Simeon Marcelo said Crescini’s argument based on the testimony of Curato has not created any crack on Curato’s claim that Estrada is Jose Velarde.

Marcelo said Estrada’s public admission in a television interview is the prosecution’s strongest evidence to prove that Estrada is Jose Velarde and pin him down on the illegal use of an alias.

"I don’t really see the logic why the defense has to cross-examine Curato when Estrada himself had admitted he is Jose Velarde," Marcelo said.

Marcelo said that Estrada’s claim that he merely acted as a guarantor to a loan taken out by plastics businessman William Gatchalian is another matter that should be proven in court by the defense.

In his earlier direct testimony, Curato said that on Feb. 4, 2000, he and prosecution star witness Clarissa Ocampo, former senior vice president of Equitable-PCI Bank and chief of the bank’s trust department, went to Malacañang where Estrada signed 15 times using the name Jose Velarde on at least five different documents as a principal account holder of a trust fund.

Curato said he was a seat away from Estrada when the latter signed the documents.

These five documents include the IMA, two signature cards, an 11-page investment guideline, directional letters or letters of instruction, and a one-page authority to debit and credit accounts.

Curato said it was only after the Feb. 4 transaction with Estrada that he learned that the Jose Velarde account was already an existing account containing P3.23 billion.

He said the P500 million which Estrada lent to his friend Gatchalian was taken from the P3.23-billion Jose Velarde account.

The defense will continue its cross-examination of Curato on tomorrow.

Nazario issued a subpoena to Alejo Custodio, branch cashier of Equitable-PCI Bank’s branch in Greenhills, San Juan to testify in the plunder case; Dr. Lauro M. Abraham Jr., president of the Philippine Orthopedic Association, and Dr. Noel B. Cariño of the St. Luke Medical Center’s Institute of Orthopedics to testify on Estrada’s motion to be allowed to undergo total knee replacement in the US.

A courtroom comedy

A court-appointed counsel of Estrada almost came to blows with a private lawyer who has been pestering the Sandiganbayan to appoint him as Estrada’s lawyer in the five criminal cases the ousted leader is facing.

Had it not been for the timely intervention of the court sheriff’s personnel, lawyer Oscar Co, one of the members of the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO), could have inflicted harm on lawyer Orlando Ailes.

Ailes, who arrived at the anti-graft court special division at 8:30 a.m., suddenly butted in during the cross-examination of Curato and insisted on reading his motion for reconsideration on his bid to be appointed as Estrada’s lawyer which was earlier junked by the court.

"This court is not impartial even in the appointment of the counsels. I want this court to allow me to read my motion for reconsideration," Ailes said.

This irked Nazario, who then warned Ailes to stop attacking the court.

Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, a member of the special division, was also irritated and reminded Ailes that there is no provision in the law allowing lawyers to volunteer their services.

The belligerent Ailes boasted that he has been in the law practice for 37 straight years and that compared to him the PAO lawyers are not seasoned lawyers. "I will go to the Supreme Court to seek an audience," Ailes threatened.

"You may go anywhere you want to go," Nazario told him.

Ailes left the court and Co followed him outside. Co then confronted Ailes and asked him why he acted that way in court. This agitated Ailes some more and asked Co, "Who are you?"

This irritated Co who then tried to punch Ailes, but cooler heads intervened and pacified Co. Ailes was allowed to leave the Sandiganbayan unharmed.

Deputized Ombudsman prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio said Ailes should have been held in contempt for disrupting yesterday’s proceedings.

"This is my first time to come across a lawyer asking the court to appoint him as counsel de officio. Counsels de officio are appointed by the court. You don’t apply for the position," Villa-Ignacio said.

In a related development, a Manila councilor is set to file today a resolution that would urge the national government to allow the disgraced president to have knee surgery abroad.

In his resolution, councilor Don Bagatsing of the city’s fourth district expressed concern over Estrada’s health which he said could deteriorate if not given immediate attention.

Quoting medical experts and Estrada’s personal doctors, Bagatsing noted that medical facilities in the country are inadequate to handle Estrada’s total knee replacement surgery.

Bagatsing said Estrada should be afforded the courtesy and dignity of a distinguished Manileño — having been born and raised in Tondo — and as befits a former president of the republic. — With Cecille Suerte Felipe