Estrada vows: I shall return

Former President Joseph Estrada, who has been granted a three-month furlough to undergo knee surgery in the United States, said he will be back by late February once he is well enough to make the trip home.

"I’ll be back," Estrada told The STAR in a telephone interview. "If I can leave after New Year, after two months I can continue my rehabilitation here in the Philippines."

Estrada has to submit a personal undertaking that he will be back by March 31 and will not travel to any other country.

He will be guarded by a four-man police detail and will be required to post a P1-million travel bond.

Estrada may leave 10 days after receiving a copy of the court ruling.

The ousted leader said he will leave once the date of his surgery is set. He plans to undergo surgery in San Francisco, California.

"I will consult first with my doctor for his availability because he has a lot of patients. So as soon as he is available, then we can make arrangements for my trip to the United States," Estrada said.

Estrada is disappointed, however, that the anti-graft court refused to allow him to spend the holidays with his ailing 98-year-old mother, Mary Marcelo-Ejercito.

The court ruled that Estrada must remain in detention until his trip to the United States. He said he would appeal that part of the ruling.

"If they are really compassionate, why not give all their compassion to my mother?" Estrada asked.

In October, Estrada was granted a brief furlough to visit his mother at her San Juan home and to undergo a medical checkup.

Estrada’s ally, Sen. Teresa Aquino-Oreta, welcomed the court ruling but said it should allow the disgraced leader to see his mother.

"Allowing Estrada to spend Christmas with his sick mother would have helped the Arroyo administration prove that it is sincere in its efforts to reach out to the former president," she said.

Critics oppose granting Estrada court permission to seek surgery abroad, saying it could be done in the Philippines and he might flee justice.

They suspect that the Arroyo administration, which previously opposed allowing Estrada to leave the country, struck a deal with Estrada to boost President Arroyo’s bid in next year’s elections.

Mrs. Arroyo and Estrada said there was no such deal.

"I am for national unity and reconciliation under the rule of law," Mrs. Arroyo said in a statement. "Within the bounds set forth by the court, we are exercising utmost compassion and respect for the dignity of the former president."

"In fairness to GMA (Mrs. Arroyo), we have no such deals," Estrada said.

Estrada’s doctors say he is suffering from torn ligaments in both knees, arthritis in the pelvic region, a cataract and a cyst in his left eye and multiple slipped discs pressing against his spinal cord.

They said his back could deteriorate if his knee condition does not improve.

Two weeks ago, Estrada wrote the court saying he had tripped "when my knees gave in and my forehead hit the pavement."

Estrada, 66, is on trial for allegedly running an illegal gambling protection racket and illegally amassing up to P4 billion during his aborted 31-month presidency. He denies the charges.

The former actor was ousted in early 2001 by a popular uprising and replaced by then vice president Gloria Arroyo. He claims he was illegally ousted and still enjoys immunity from suit. — With Christina Mendez, Jose Rodel Clapano