Estrada to ask for time with mom before US trip

Ousted President Joseph Estrada wants to spend at least one week with his 98-year-old ailing mother before he flies to the United States for a much-needed surgery later this month.

"I would ask the (Sandiganbayan) again to give me at least one week before I leave (for the US) to spend this time with my mother and also take care of my preparations for the trip," he told The STAR in a telephone interview from his detention cell at the Army’s Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal.

Estrada said the special division had not acted favorably on his lawyers’ petition that he spend Christmas with his mother, Doña Mary Marcelo-Ejercito at her residence in Greenhills, San Juan.

Estrada said he might be able to leave by Jan. 20 or 24 for Stanford Medical Center in Palo Alto, California, where his American doctor, Christopher Mow, has scheduled him for knee surgery.

Mow might be able to perform the surgery either on Feb. 4 or 6, and that he must be confined at Stanford 10 days earlier for a series of pre-operation medical exams, he added.

However, Estrada said his lawyers have not yet filed his visa application with the US Embassy even after the Department of Foreign Affairs had issued him a regular passport.

"But any time now, we will (apply for a US visa)," he said.

Ronald Post, US Embassy public affairs counselor, said they have not yet received any visa application from Estrada.

Meanwhile, Estrada said his lawyers will ask the special division to reconsider its decision that he be escorted by four policemen during his US trip and that he pay for their airfare, food and lodging.

"Wala akong bahay sa San Francisco (California)," he said. "Alangan naman patirahin ko pa sila sa hotel, masaya sila."

Lawyer Crispin Remulla, Estrada’s spokesman, said US law enforcers could provide the security required by the special division to ensure that Estrada does not flee, and that he returns to the Philippines to face prosecution.

On the other hand, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said the government would facilitate the US trip of Estrada unless a higher court issues a temporary restraining order against the Sandiganbayan’s decision.

Government lawyers led by special prosecutor Dennis Villa Ignacio said they will appeal the special division’s ruling to prevent Estrada from seeking medical treatment in the US for his knees.