Prosecution’s evidence links Jinggoy to plunder

The prosecution in the trial of the plunder case against deposed President Joseph Estrada presented yesterday evidence linking his son, former San Juan Mayor Jinggoy Estrada, to the case.

In building up their case against Jinggoy, State Prosecutor Humphrey Monterosa said they established the trail of bribe money from illegal gambling operators to secret bank accounts.

"We have just established the flow of money from former Ilocos Sur Governor Luis ‘Chavit’ Singson to Yolanda Ricaforte," Monterosa said.

The prosecution presented Edel Quinn De Guzman Nantes, manager of Equitable PCI Bank branch on Timog Avenue, Quezon City who testified at the Sandiganbayan hearing that Ricaforte deposited some P94 million in 10 accounts.

The money was believed to be part of P200 million collected by Singson from jueteng operators on behalf of the ousted president.

The prosecution lawyer said they would show during the next hearing how the rest of the P200 million was deposited in the United Coconut Planters Bank under the name of the Erap Muslim Youth Foundation.

Monterosa said another witness will testify on the extent of Jinggoy’s involvement in the transfer of the funds deposited by Ricaforte in Equitable PCIBank, Timog branch, also under the name of the Muslim Youth Foundation.

The prosecution aims to prove that they have strong evidence to tie Jinggoy to the plunder charge, hence his petition for bail should be denied.

Under Philippine law, plunder is a capital offense, therefore non-bailable and punishable by death.

The defense panel led by former Justice Manuel Pamaran filed the motion for bail claiming that the prosecution has weak evidence that Jinggoy conspired with his father to launder jueteng money.

Singson blew the whistle on Estrada’s alleged involvement in jueteng operations in Luzon, even as he admitted acting as chief collector for Estrada, his former political ally and gambling partner.

Singson’s exposé triggered the failed impeachment trial of Estrada that in turn precipitated the military-backed popular revolution that toppled the Estrada administration.

Nantes said she personally attended to Ricaforte when the latter opened a current account and a savings account under a so-called combo package on Sept. 1, 1999.

Nantes said when she asked Ricaforte about her business interest, Ricaforte told her she was in the real estate and fishpond business.

Ricaforte allegedly opened the accounts with an initial deposit of P17.2 million pay-to-cash check issued by Singson against his account with Metropolitan Bank on Ayala Avenue in Makati City.

Of this amount, Nantes said only P5,000 went to the current account.

She added that both accounts are still open and the deposits still unchanged.

Nantes also said Ricaforte opened seven more savings accounts with her bank.

Meanwhile, Ombudsman Aniano Desierto, acting as head of the prosecution panel, underscored the relevance of the testimony of Lucena Baby Ortaliza to their efforts to prove that Estrada used the name Jose Velarde in his bank accounts with Equitable PCI.

Desierto said earlier he had tapped the resources of the Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation in looking for Ortaliza and subpoena her as a prosecution witness.

"She is a very important person," Desierto told reporters during a recess in yesterday’s hearing being conducted by the Sandiganbayan special division headed by Justice Minita Chico-Nazario.

Desierto said several witnesses have said Ortaliza was a personal secretary of Estrada.

The prosecution believed that Ortaliza personally deposited some P1.6 million of the total P3.2-billion Velarde account in Equitable PCI.