Gov’t lawyers to finish case vs Estrada before Holy Week

Government prosecutors attempting to pin former President Joseph Estrada on corruption charges promised the Sandiganbayan yesterday they will finish presenting their evidence before the start of Holy Week in mid-April.

Chief Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa Ignacio told Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Minita Chico-Nazario that they have two more witnesses in the next two hearings — set April 2 and — and suggested that a "tentative" hearing be set on April 11 just in case there will be no hearing on April 9, Bataan Day.

Estrada’s plunder trial hearings are scheduled every Monday and Wednesday, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

"We will definitely rest our case (against Estrada) by April 14 (Holy Monday)," Villa Ignacio told justices of the Sandiganbayan’s special division.

He added that two more witnesses will be presented, aside from Export and Import Bank official Danila Camacho, who was tasked to look for missing bank documents.

Villa Ignacio claimed they wanted to present a signature expert from Scotland Yard to assess the ousted president’s Jose Velarde and Joseph Estrada signatures, but said they may not be able to do so due to time constraints.

"The document itself is very hard to dispute. How can you deny your own signature? That (Jose signature) is very significant. You can see it with your naked eye," he said.

The prosecution panel will present a total of 75 witnesses. Its 73rd witness was Marianito Dimaandal, assistant director of the Malacañang Records Office, who was presented yesterday.

Defense lawyer Manuel Pamaran said they have not yet decided what course of action to take should the prosecution rest its case, but claimed they might seek permission from the Sandiganbayan special division to file a demurrer to evidence, which means the court will have to decide whether the prosecution’s evidence is strong.

If the evidence is strong, then defense lawyers will be required to present evidence. Otherwise, the case will be dismissed, without Estrada’s lawyers having to produce witnesses and documentary evidence that will exonerate their client.

Pamaran said, however, that the court-appointed lawyers and Estrada’s personal lawyers have not yet discussed which of them will be defending Estrada. He said they do not yet know how many witnesses they have to present, in contrast to a statement issued by Estrada’s spokesman Raymond Fortun, who said they have around 80 witnesses.

In yesterday’s hearing, Dimaandal testified that Estrada signed 22 presidential orders as "Jose" and not as "Joseph," which reportedly indicated that he indeed used the fictitious name Jose Velarde to conceal his P3.2 billion in ill-gotten wealth.

"That’s the problem with having an alias, or too many aliases, and being drunk with Blue Label, especially if you go home at 3 or 4 a.m. So, the next morning, you will (be confused) as to who you really are. These documents cannot be denied," Villa Ignacio told reporters after the hearing.

Dimaandal presented State Prosecutor Perfecto Lawrence Chua Cheng with 22 documents signed by Estrada from 1998 to 2000 which bore the "Jose" signature.

However, Dimaandal’s testimony was not quite similar to that of Equitable PCI Bank executive Clarissa Ocampo, who personally saw the former actor sign as Jose Velarde. Prosecutors said the evidentiary value is almost the same, since the documents are considered authentic because they all came from Malacañang.

Pamaran acknowledged that the documents were indeed genuine.

"Well, that’s an official document. Whatever appears there will be taken cognizance of (by the court)," he said, though he noted that Estrada’s signature "was not very clear."

"It is not very clear (in the documents) that it is Joseph Ejercito Estrada," he said. Asked whether it jibed with his signature in the Velarde account, Pamaran replied, "The way I see it, considering the formation of the letters, they don’t."

Villa Ignacio, on the other hand, claimed it would be "very telling" if Estrada would justify that he merely forgot to affix the missing "ph" letter in his "Jose" signature. A comparison of the deposed leader’s signature in P100 bills would bear a complete contrast, as these indicated Estrada’s full name.

Chua Cheng presented before Sandiganbayan’s special division the signed proclamations, administrative orders, memoranda and circulars of the ex-president as proof he really signed as "Jose" and not as "Joseph."