Estrada to miss plunder trial due to bum stomach

Former President Joseph Estrada is unlikely to appear today at the Sandiganbayan for the resumption of his testimony at his corruption trial because of diarrhea and dehydration.

He was supposed to be back in detention at his resthouse in Tanay, Rizal, after attending his mother’s 101st birthday at his Greenhills, San Juan residence last Wednesday.

However, Estrada felt ill and complained of stomach pain later in the day.

Sandiganbayan sheriff Ed Urieta allowed Estrada to stay overnight at his Polk Street mansion in San Juan’s posh Greenhills district following advice from Estrada’s personal doctor, Lorenzo Hocson, who is also a cousin.

Estrada was taken to San Juan Medical Hospital yesterday for tests.

"We have informed the Sandiganbayan that the former president is confined here at San Juan Hospital," Urieta said.

Hocson said Estrada is suffering from loose bowel movement and dehydration. "I needed to put a dextrose on him to contain the dehydration," he told reporters.

Hocson believed the diarrhea was caused by too much fatty food that Estrada had eaten at his mother’s party.

"I arrived late at the birthday celebration of President Estrada’s mother. But I was told that he ate plenty of fatty food like kare-kare and lengua," he said, adding that he will tell Estrada’s lawyers to seek a postponement of Estrada’s testimony today.

Estrada’s lead counsel Rene Saguisag did not seek a postponement yesterday, saying Estrada might get well.

Ferdie Ramos, Estrada’s media relations officer, said Estrada was fine when he arrived at his residence on Wednesday. "He was actually in high spirits," Ramos told reporters. However, Estrada started going back and forth to the toilet as the day wore on.

Ramos said Estrada might have overeaten because he was excited to be home after being away for such a long time.

It was his first visit to his posh residence after five years in detention while undergoing trial for corruption.

Estrada was not allowed to give any press interviews while he was out, the Sandiganbayan said in its order.

The anti-graft court also denied his request to see a dentist supposedly scheduled on May 4 at a suburban hospital due to a lack of time to deal with security concerns.

The court also denied a request by defense lawyers to allow Estrada to stay until his court appearance today.

Estrada was arrested in 2001 after his ouster by a military-backed popular uprising over charges of massive corruption. He is currently on trial for plunder and other charges.

He was first detained at the police camp Sto. Domingo in Sta. Rosa, Laguna then transferred to the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City before his move to Tanay, Rizal.

Estrada was initially detained at Camp Capinpin, a Philippine Army base, in Tanay before being put under "resthouse arrest" at his sprawling villa nearby.

After thumbing down a defense petition for house arrest at his Greenhills residence, the Sandiganbayan has repeatedly denied Estrada’s requests to visit his San Juan home for various reasons, seen as excuses to leave detention.

This time, the court allowed Estrada to visit his Polk street home to attend the 101st birthday of his mother, Mary Marcelo-Ejercito.

Estrada told the court that the celebration was held at his house because it has more space for relatives and friends. His mother lives at a house in nearby Kennedy street.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) and state prosecutors raised no objections.

However, the court ruled that Estrada may only stay until 10 p.m. of Wednesday, denying a request that he be allowed to spend the night there and go for a dental appointment the following day at Asian Hospital in Muntinlupa City.

Defense lawyer Saguisag told the court that Estrada has been complaining of a "metallic pain that would not go away."

The PNP objected, saying it needed "sufficient time to see to it that all security concerns are first threshed out."

It said Estrada "could not be easily moved from one place to another without taking into consideration all situations, including those that could arise by reason of his presence in the aforesaid hospital."

"Definitely, the short time remaining, from the appointed time with his dentist, will not be sufficient for the PNP to undertake the necessary preparations," the PNP told the Sandiganbayan’s three-member special division.

The police suggested that Estrada’s dentist at Asian Hospital be the one to make the trip to the resthouse in Tanay.

Officers could escort the dentist there, "including the required number of personnel who would assist him in his work. This arrangement will not entail so much security preparations but, just the same, the dental discomfort of the accused could be addressed by the same dentist," the PNP said.

Estrada is accused of running an illegal gambling protection racket and amassing millions of pesos in payoffs from jueteng barons.

He denies the charges and claims his ouster was illegal and that he still enjoys presidential immunity from suit.

Despite the corruption charges, Estrada remains popular among the country’s poor and remains the leader of the political opposition which is seeking to oust his successor, President Arroyo, over allegations that she cheated in the 2004 presidential election. — With Christina Mendez, Mike Frialde