EDITORIAL - Score one for Erap

Had it been another justice, it would be easy to suspect something sinister in the minor court victory of Joseph Estrada this week at the Sandiganbayan. In a move that dismayed government prosecutors, the anti-graft court’s presiding justice, Francis Garchitorena, barred the presentation of evidence in Estrada’s perjury case. Prosecutors and several quarters expressed fears that the perjury case would be thrown out.

Garchitorena, however, has built a reputation for integrity and courage in the face of adversity. He may have a mercurial temper and a mouth that needs washing with soap, but he has shown often enough that he knows his law and what justice means. This makes it difficult to accuse him of incompetence or something else much worse when he refused to allow two witnesses to testify against Estrada.

The two —- Salvador Serrano, Security Bank’s vice president for central operations, and general manager Renato Balatbat of the Keppel Bank branch in San Juan —- were supposed to testify that Estrada had over P62 million in Keppel Bank as well as three accounts with Security Bank totaling more than P13.5 million. As president, Estrada had declared assets for 1999 amounting to only P35 million. Prosecutors maintained that his assets amounted to billions of pesos and charged him with perjury. Garchitorena, however, said the accounts in the two banks were not in the original charge sheet and refused to allow the testimony of the bank executives.

A dismissal of this case will encourage public officials to continue lying about their assets and liabilities. Just hire a topnotch accountant and you can become the poorest member of the House of Representatives, as Imelda Marcos once did without eliciting a perjury case. On the other hand, any conviction in these unprecedented cases against a former president must be based on proof beyond reasonable doubt. Questions about conviction in any case will only add fuel to an already volatile situation. Prosecutors can’t afford to bungle on these cases.

For now Estrada has scored a minor victory. But the perjury case isn’t over, and he still faces the main charge of plunder. Prosecutors should see this setback as a challenge to do better, especially when handling bigger cases against Estrada.