Erap asks court for 3-day New Year’s furlough

Detained President Joseph Estrada’s lawyer Rene Saguisag asked yesterday for a three-day New Year furlough for his client even as he questioned the claim of the Philippine National Police (PNP) that it could not provide security for Estrada’s Christmas furlough.

"With all due respect, should the police have such a dominant role in our national life?" asked Saguisag, who said it is about time the justices of the anti-graft court’s special division "revisit their (police’s) role."

Estrada had requested a 10-day Christmas furlough, from Dec. 24 to Jan. 2 next year, but the Sandiganbayan’s special division — where Estrada’s plunder and perjury cases are pending — granted only a nine-hour special pass on Dec. 25 for him to spend time with his mother at her residence on Kennedy street in North Greenhills subdivision in San Juan.

The anti-graft court took into consideration the PNP’s claims that it has neither prepared any security arrangements for such a visit nor enough personnel to provide Estrada with round-the-clock security.

This dearth of PNP personnel is partly attributed to the preparations by the PNP for the postponed 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit to be held in Cebu in the second week of January 2007.

"If told, they (police) could have handled being ordered to secure Estrada, say at 9 p.m. of noche buena — arguably the height of Christmas festivities," Saguisag said.

He has filed a three-page motion requesting the Sandiganbayan to grant Estrada a New Year furlough from Dec. 31 to Jan. 2 and told the magistrates that it is not always right to listen to the PNP. 

"The civilian authority should be supreme over the police and the military, which should of course be consulted as a matter of courtesy, but at the end of the day, it is the call of this honorable court as to what is reasonable in the culture," Saguisag said.

This time, the PNP officials said they interpose "no objection" to Estrada’s request, although they said they still lack the manpower due to preparations for the summit.

PNP Security and Protection Office director Senior Superintendent Romeo Hilomen said, however, that the "duration of the pass shall only be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Jan. 1, 2007," and not the three-day vacation Estrada requested.

"The PNP respectfully reiterates the reason that the PNP is in the midst of preparations in connection with the 12th Asean Summit. The PNP does not have the required number of personnel who could provide him with round- the-clock security," Hilomen said.

Estrada, through his spokesman Rufus Rodriguez, earlier expressed disappointment over his brief Christmas furlough.

Rodriguez said Estrada was hoping the special division, in the spirit of the holiday season, would grant him a "four-day pass" which he requested last week.

"At the very least, the anti-graft court could have allowed Estrada a 24-hour overnight pass, considering that his 102-year old mother, Doña Mary Ejercito, remains in guarded medical condition at the San Juan Medical Center," the former immigration chief said.

Rodriguez clarified, however, that they are nonetheless "grateful" for the "brief pass, although we had been hoping for the four days requested for since Estrada’s entire family has been looking forward to spending some time with him."

"Mrs. Ejercito’s health is very frail and we had all been hoping Estrada would be given a few days to spend with her because she would certainly have been so happy to be with her favorite son for a little longer," Rodriguez pointed out.