Sandiganbayan wants daily Estrada hearings

Sandiganbayan justices hearing the criminal cases against ousted President Joseph Estrada want to hold trials the whole day on Mondays and Wednesdays, starting next month up to December.

But Estrada’s court-appointed lawyers, led by Manuel Pamaran who was the Sandiganbayan’s first presiding justice, are opposed to the idea.

In open court yesterday, Associate Justice Minita Chico-Nazario, chairwoman of the special division, said they would have a lot of free time between October and December as hearings on regular divisions would be canceled following the retirement of four justices.

"This means that by the end of October, the 15-member Sandiganbayan will have four vacancies as a result of their retirement," she said.

"There will be cancellations of hearings on regular divisions of the Sandiganbayan from October to December until the four vacancies are filled up."

The acting Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice said she and two other justices of the special division would like to "take advantage of our free time" to hasten the trial of the two perjury, illegal use of alias, and plunder cases against Estrada.

"We are situated in the same position," she said. "You see, since we handled these cases against the former president, we cannot even take our leave of absence and we can’t even visit our children. We just want to take advantage of the lull that we have for two months."

Nazario said Associate Justice Nicodemo Ferrer, a senior member of the anti-graft court’s first division, had retired last Aug. 3.

Associate Justice Catalino Castañeda, another senior member of the first division, will retire on Friday; Associate Justice Anacleto Badoy, chairman of the third division, on Oct. 18; and Associate Justice Narciso Nario, chairman of the fourth division, will retire on Oct. 29, she added.

On the other hand, Pamaran said the present trial schedules are already "logical" but that he and the other court-appointed lawyers still have to "double" their time in reviewing the facts in the Estrada cases. –Jose Rodel Clapano