Malacañang warns Estrada of committing treason

Malacañang warned former President Joseph Estrada against making any statements which might mean his being sympathetic with the enemies of the state.

Presidential chief of staff Michael Defensor said Estrada should refrain from making statements as he might be accused of treason.

Defensor noted Estrada made a declaration that he would extend help even to New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas and rebel soldiers if they sought refuge at his resthouse in Tanay, Rizal.

A defiant Estrada issued the statement after he was implicated anew in the Feb. 24 botched coup attempt staged by the rightist Magdalo military faction.

Estrada said he will feed anyone who is hungry "regardless of political affiliations."

"These are not hungry people," Defensor said. "These (the NPA and military rebels) are armed and dangerous people who do not hesitate to use violence or even kill to achieve their ends."

Estrada last March admitted to donating to "cooperatives" of the Army Scout Rangers and the Marines.

Authorities claimed the donation was used to finance destabilization attempts against the government.

Estrada, however, denied the allegations by claiming the donations were aboveboard and duly recorded.

Meanwhile, Defensor and Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said Novaliches Bishop Antonio Tobias could be charged for harboring Magdalo rebels.

Defensor said Tobias is under obligation as a citizen to inform the authorities of the presence of fugitives from the law.

Ermita, for his part, said the Novaliches prelate could be charged for harboring a fugitive under the Revised Penal Code.

"(But) we will leave it to our lawyers to determine the kind of charge against such an individual who has given aid and comfort to those who have planned and who continue to plan for toppling the government which is a crime," he said.

Ermita said Tobias can invoke his moral obligation as a Christian providing shelter for the needy.

Ermita said he does not believe the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) would be sharing Tobias’ sentiments or condone his actions.

"Just because we know that one or two leaders of the Church are involved does not mean that the church is involve so I don’t think that it is right to say that... there is a conspiracy involving the Church," he said.

Tobias, who is closely identified with Estrada, led the ecumenical Mass for the disgraced leader during his birthday last Apr. 19 at the St. Peter’s Cathedral on Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City.

In his homily during the Mass, Tobias even apologized in behalf of the Catholic Church hierarchy for participating in the EDSA II popular revolt that ousted Estrada from office in January 2001.

Estrada was again implicated as among the "financiers" of the coup plot against President Arroyo, with his funds supposedly going into the hands of Magdalo officers.

The checks purportedly covering rebel expenses were allegedly traced to his son-in-law Manuel "Beaver" Lopez, husband of his daughter Jacqueline.

Lopez is the treasurer of the Saludo sa Kawal Pilipino Foundation, which supposedly issued checks to certain military officers who were among those implicated in the alleged coup plots against the Arroyo administration.

Lopez had claimed he had already clarified the issue surrounding the P2 million donation to the soldiers.

He admitted giving P2 million to the detained Magdalo officers, which was coursed through their defense counsel Roel Pulido.

Pulido, for his part, made representations in returning yesterday P850,000 of the P2 million donation to the police investigators at the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG).

Marita Cielo Bautista represented Pulido in returning all documents covering the receipts and donations made to the foundation.

Meanwhile, lawyers of Estrada in the plunder case declined the offer of government lawyers to assist the former president in his libel case against former beauty queen Joelle Pelaez.

Defense lawyer Jay Flaminiano told the court that Estrada’s libel complaint would just be notarized before it is submitted to the prosecutor’s office for filing.

Earlier, the three-member Sandiganbayan Special Division denied Estrada’s request to be allowed to personally file his P30 million libel suit against Pelaez, her mother Blanquita Pelaez, and the newspaper Manila Standard Today which published the story.

Instead, the court agreed with the proposal of Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio to just send a prosecutor to administer the oath to Estrada in the filing of complaint. - With Cecille Suerte Felipe, Mike Frialde