Produce the bank papers, Estrada asks government lawyers

A lawyer of deposed President Joseph Estrada has asked the Sandiganbayan to order the Senate legal counsel to present an envelope believed to contain bank documents proving that Estrada illegally amassed wealth during his presidency.

Prosecutors allege Estrada took bribes from illegal gambling rackets, embezzled state funds and profits from insider trading, among others.

He allegedly stashed the proceeds in a secret bank account with Equitable PCI Bank under the name Jose Velarde. They say the account contained P3.2 billion at one point.

In his two-page motion, lawyer Noel Malaya said the envelope’s contents, however, will prove defense claims that Estrada friend Jaime Dichaves was the real owner of the bank account.

On Monday, prosecutors will put Equitable PCI Bank executive Clarissa Ocampo on the witness stand, who is expected to testify that Estrada owned the account.

During Estrada’s aborted impeachment trial in December 2000-January 2001, Ocampo told the Senate, which acted as an impeachment court, that Estrada signed the bank documents as Jose Velarde in her presence in Malacañang on Feb. 4, 2000.

The signing was witnessed by another Equitable PCI Bank official, Manuel Curato, who had already testified before the Sandiganbayan in April.

"He affixed his signature in the name of Jose Velarde," Curato told the anti-graft court.

Estrada signed the name "Jose Velarde" at least 15 times on at least six different bank documents at the Malacañang guest house "not as a guarantor, but the principal lender," Curato said.

In the impeachment trial, the pro-Estrada-controlled Senate refused to accept evidence – contained in an envelope – on the Jose Velarde account, sparking the military-backed popular protest that ousted Estrada in January 2001.

He was replaced by then Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The envelope was never opened and was kept at the Senate archives for safekeeping.

Estrada is being tried for corruption and economic plunder, charges that carry the death penalty or life in prison. He is accused of amassing more than P4 billion ($75 million) during his 31-month rule.

He has insisted he is innocent and the trial was rigged. He maintains he has not resigned and claims he was illegally forced out of office. Estrada has withdrawn his lawyers but the court has given him government-appointed counsel against his wishes.