Erap becoming paranoid, Chavit says

Ousted President Estrada is becoming paranoid following the disclosure of an alleged P2-billion money-laundering scam by a former beauty queen, his estranged drinking buddy Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson said yesterday.

"Why is he accusing me again of being the brainchild of all these?" Singson asked reporters yesterday.

"He is so insecure, paranoid and afraid of his own ghost. Why can he not answer the charges whether it is true or not? Apparently, he has no good defense to speak of in the first place," the government’s principal witness in the ousted leader’s plunder trial said.

Singson made the statement in response to Estrada’s accusation that the Ilocos official was behind the exposé of Joelle Marie Henson Pelaez, second runner-up in the 1999 Binibining Pilipinas beauty contest.

"I only saw her (Pelaez) once at the presidential yacht," Singson said. "Erap (Estrada’s nickname) asked me to give her P2 million so she could purchase a car. Since then, I’ve never seen her."

Singson told The STAR he issued a check for P2 million to Pelaez, who subsequently cashed it.

"Balato ko sa kanya kaysa bilhan ng Jaguar na mas mahal (That’s better than giving her an expensive Jaguar)," Singson quipped.

He said the P2 million "balato" came from his winnings in a mah-jong game played with Estrada aboard the presidential yacht in 1999.

National Bureau of Investigation acting Director Nestor Mantaring said yesterday the NBI might invite for questioning certain personalities mentioned in Pelaez’s exposé.

"I only received the order from Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales yesterday morning, and I immediately forwarded it to the Interpol Division since it seems that there might be an angle abroad," he said.

Mantaring said he has ordered the NBI-Anti Fraud and Computer Crimes Division (AFCCD) headed by Assistant Regional Director Elfren Meneses Jr. to help in the investigation since they are in close coordination with the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).

"I will leave it to the Interpol to make the schedules who and when they would invite for interview, maybe to those who are still in the country," he said.

Singson also said Estrada would have a hard time denying the allegations of Pelaez because he knows that they are true.

"Erap is paranoid these days, because he knows fully well that the exposé of Pelaez is true," he said.

"And this is the main reason why he could not rebut the charges squarely."

Estrada has neither confirmed nor denied the beauty queen’s claims.

Singson also took a swipe at Estrada’s defense that he had been "framed," resulting in the filing of "trumped-up charges" against him before the Sandiganbayan.

"It’s impossible for a president to be framed," Singson said. "He only gave credence to insinuations that he had nothing in his head." Singson said Estrada "only has himself to blame for his fate."

"It was his greed that did him in, his insatiable desire to accumulate more and more money when he was still in power," he said.

"It was not my vindictiveness that resulted in his indictment and detention. If they did not attempt to kill me just as they did to (publicist Bubby) Dacer, I may not have come out." — With Evelyn Macairan