‘Velarde account proves Estrada’s innocence’

A lawyer of deposed President Joseph Estrada yesterday said the Jose Velarde bank account proved that Estrada was innocent of the plunder charges against him because "the account balance is a far cry from the alleged billions it contained."

In a letter to the Sandiganbayan, Equitable PCI Bank legal advisory manager Gerardo Banzon said the controversial account that sparked Estrada’s ouster in 2001 contains only P2,770.69.

The letter was dated Sept. 18 and was received by the anti-graft court Monday.

Estrada lawyer Raymond Fortun said that proved that the account was not owned by Estrada, but by his associate Jaime Dichaves, adding that the government knew that all along.

Dichaves, who remains at large, claimed during Estrada’s failed impeachment trial early last year that he owned the account. He is one of the co-accused in Estrada’s corruption trial.

"If they are insisting that Dichaves owns the account, how could he then withdraw it if he is out of town? He is in hiding. He has a warrant of arrest," said senior state prosecutor Alex Padilla.

Padilla said they will find out if the account had been emptied or that was the amount the account had all along.

"We would like to inquire how and through who the amount was withdrawn," he said. "This only proves that the prosecution has a case against Estrada. They are aware that they have to empty the account. They want to clean it in their helpless effort to get rid of the money."

In April, a prosecution witness, Equitable PCI Bank official Manuel Curato, testified that Estrada signed bank documents under the name "Jose Velarde" in early 2000 before him and another bank official, Clarissa Ocampo.

Prosecutors accuse Estrada of setting up a protection racket for illegal gambling bosses and using the proceeds to acquire mansions for himself and his string of mistresses.

Estrada used the Velarde account to launder proceeds of illegal gambling kickbacks, embezzled state funds and profits from insider trading, among others.

They say the account – which is one of the bases for the capital charge of plunder against him – contained P3.2 billion at one point.

Estrada was forced to step down in January 2001 following military-backed mass protests over his alleged corruption after his impeachment trial at the Senate ended in a farce.

He is being held without bail for the capital charge of plunder. He also faces two charges of perjury and illegal use of an alias to hide secret bank accounts.

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 P12 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.