Unfreeze assets, Estrada asks court

Deposed President Joseph Estrada’s lawyers have asked the Sandiganbayan to exclude his assets and those of Jose Velarde — an alias prosecutors say Estrada used to hide millions in bribes — from a freeze order it issued last month.

Lawyer Manuel Pamaran said the anti-graft court should exclude the assets because they were not in the list of assets sought to be frozen by the prosecution.

He said the Sandiganbayan "was without jurisdiction to order the attachment of properties other than those the attachment of which was sought by the motions of the prosecution."

Late last month, the Sandiganbayan ordered a freeze on all assets of Estrada, Velarde and Estrada’s co-defendants in his corruption trial.

The "writ of preliminary attachment" issued by the Sandiganbayan also froze two mansions owned by Estrada’s associates and co-defendants, Yolanda Ricaforte and suspected illegal gambling kingpin Charlie "Atong" Ang.

Also frozen were Ricaforte’s bank deposits totaling P11 million, which prosecutors suspect actually belonged to Estrada, and bank deposits totaling over P201 million under the Erap Muslim Youth Foundation, a charity prosecutors say Estrada used as a front to hide the ill-gotten wealth.

In their motion for reconsideration, defense lawyers said the Sandiganbayan should limit the freeze order to the mansions owned by Ricaforte and Ang, and the bank deposits owned by Ricaforte and the Erap Muslim Youth Foundation.