Estrada lawyers appeal ruling on US surgery

The lawyers of former President Joseph Estrada appealed yesterday the Sandiganbayan court’s ruling that bars the ousted leader from traveling to the United States for knee surgery.

In a six-page motion filed yesterday, the court-appointed counsels de officio cited "humanitarian reasons" in asking the anti-graft court to review its previous ruling. Former Sandiganbayan presiding justice, Manuel Pamaran, who leads Estrada’s legal team, said the court is denying Estrada his right to human dignity and life by denying his right to a doctor of his own choice.

"It makes the existence and observance of laws more supreme than the right of man to his dignity and life, a man whose guilt has yet to be proved," Pamaran said.

Allowing Estrada to undergo treatment in the United States would encourage the jailed former president to submit himself to the court’s jurisdiction, Pamaran argued.

"The grant to the movant of this motion for treatment abroad will certainly be a fresh wind to ... open his mind and heart, which were numbed by torment," Pamaran said. "After all, there is man’s humanity to man in our justice system."

Giving Estrada a chance to undergo knee surgery in the United States would also heal the nation’s wounds, caused by Estrada’s indictment, Pamaran said. The court can still proceed with the prosecution of Estrada’s four cases, including the capital offense of plunder, even if he delays his return to the country after the knee surgery.

But Estrada will lose his right to appeal if he does not appear in court, Pamaran pointed out. His property may also be confiscated. Above all, Estrada could lose his chance to defend himself if he does not stand trial, he said. –Jose Rodel Clapano