Jinggoy out on bail, hopes Estrada will be next

Ousted President Joseph Estrada’s son Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada posted bail yesterday after being detained with his father for almost two years at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City on charges of plunder.

"I thank God Lord for answering intense prayers of myself, my family and our legion of friends and supporters for justice," the former San Juan mayor told reporters.

The Sandiganbayan anti-graft court last Thursday granted bail to the young Estrada after finding the evidence against him "highly speculative" and did not show "conspiracy between the father and son, express or implied."

Three other people have been accused in the same plunder case, but two of them have fled the country. The other, Estrada’s personal lawyer, Edward Serapio, has also petitioned for bail and his case is being heard by the Sandiganbayan.

Jinggoy was sporting sunglasses and an orange shirt — his father’s trademark color — when he went to the Sandiganbayan in Quezon City at around 1:30 p.m. to post bail of P500,000.

"I have mixed feelings. I’m very happy and yet sad because I’ll be out of jail while my father and attorney Edward Serapio still languish in jail," Jinggoy said in a prepared statement distributed to the press.

Estrada’s earlier petition for "house arrest" was rejected by the Sandiganbayan for the second time. He and his lawyers are considering whether to bring their petition to the Supreme Court.

Jinggoy was accompanied by film action stars Rudy Fernandez and Philip Salvador and his former San Juan vice mayor Philip Cezar. Fernandez told reporters that he and Salvador raised the money.

"It’s OK, we will do it for our dear friend. Of course, we’re happy because it’s been two long years since he was detained. Finally, he will be reunited with us and his family," Salvador said.

Reporters and photographers had a brief spat with Jinggoy’s bodyguards and Sandiganbayan sheriffs who kept them away from Jinggoy.

"Not even the presidential guards have done that to us," one photographer complained.

"We are happy that we have obtained justice for Jinggoy," said Crispin Remulla, spokesman for Estrada’s Partido ng Masang Pilipino political party.

"It’s a triumph of justice," defense lawyer Manuel Pamaran said of the bail decision.

Remulla said the ruling will have an impact on the father’s case because the plunder charges revolve around conspiracy between the father and son to collect proceeds from illegal gambling and bribes.

"Since the conspiracy angle is not there anymore... the case against the president will also weaken," Remulla told The Associated Press.

Prosecutor Dennis Villa Ignacio insisted the case against Estrada was not weakened or destroyed, adding that the absence of a conspiracy charge would not rule out guilt in plunder.

He said prosecutors had yet to decide whether they will appeal.

Malacañang was unperturbed about the bail decision and chose not to comment on the ruling. "We leave it to the wise discretion of the Sandiganbayan," Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye told a press briefing. "This is procedural and the prosecutors know what to do."

Estrada has denied any wrongdoing and accused a clique of wealthy businessmen and Roman Catholic Church leaders of orchestrating his downfall because they disdained his carefree lifestyle and admission that he once was a womanizer.

In January 2001, Estrada was ousted amid a military-backed popular uprising after being accused of corruption. He had served two and a half years of his six-year term, and was arrested in April that year with his son.

He was replaced by then Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Prosecutors allege Estrada took bribes from illegal gambling rackets, embezzled state funds and profited from insider trading, among other charges.

They accuse him of amassing more than P4 billion ($75 million) during his 31-month rule.

He allegedly stashed the proceeds in a secret bank account with Equitable PCI Bank under the name Jose Velarde and used the money to buy mansions for his string of mistresses and himself. They say the account contained P3.2 billion at one point. — With Marichu Villanueva