Former senator Rene Saguisag, Estrada’s lead counsel, had informed the Sandiganbayan that his client had lost days of needed preparation following a surgery to remove a cyst in his left eye last Feb. 23.
"The principal accused’s eye operation caused the loss of a week of preparation so that our team feels we cannot in all probability be ready on March 15, 2006 for a day-long trial, for reasons beyond our control," Saguisag said in a two-page manifestation.
Defense lawyers did not say how many days they would ask the court for extension to prepare Estrada for his testimony.
Estrada’s operation was performed at the San Juan Medical Center by Dr. Amadeo Veloso Jr., an ophthalmologist from the Asian Eye Institute.
Estrada was taken back to his place of detention in his Tanay, Rizal resthouse four days after the surgery.
Earlier, the defense panel had informed the court that Estrada will take the witness stand on March 15 and testify in his defense.
Meanwhile, Estrada wants a live media coverage of his court appearances.
The remaining court proceedings in his plunder and perjury cases will focus mostly on his own testimony, he added.
Last Feb. 27, Estrada asked the Supreme Court to reconsider its Nov. 9, 2004 ruling denying a request of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas for a live broadcast of his plunder trial.
In his petition, Estrada appealed for parity, saying the public trial during his impeachment hearings before the Senate caused him irreparable prejudice after he was denied a chance to refute the charges against him when the prosecution walked out. — Mike Frialde