Court set to open bank records in Estrada case

Court set to open bank records in Estrada case
REUTERS

MANILA, DEC 18: The Philippine Senate impeachment court was set to open sealed bank records on Monday which prosecutors say will convict President Joseph Estrada on corruption charges.

The prosecution contends the documents include a copy of a cheque for 142 million pesos (about $3.0 million) allegedly signed by Estrada using a fictitious name and used to buy a mansion for one of his mistresses.

Under the rules, only a Supreme Court intervention or a vote by a majority of the country's 22 senators opposing the opening of the records would stop the impeachment court from unsealing the bank records.

Estrada's lawyers, who have objected to the opening of the documents, said they were meeting to discuss whether or not to carry their fight all the way to the Supreme Court.

Senate President Aquilino Pimentel said he had not received word from any senator objecting to the opening of the documents and that unless a senator ``takes it up there is no more problem''.

The senators were to hold a meeting at noon (0400 GMT) to decide whether the documents should be opened and admitted in evidence. The trial resumes two hours later.

Estrada has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him running from bribery and corruption to betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the constitution.

The trial was triggered by accusations from provincial governor and former presidential ally Luis Singson that Estrada received about 400 million pesos ($8 million) in protection money from gambling syndicates running underground lotteries.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide, the trial's presiding officer, ordered the opening of the bank documents on Friday despite Defence objections that they were irrelevant to the case.

Presidential lawyer Jose Flaminiano told local radio the Defence team was considering several options, including filing a petition with the Supreme Court to stop the admission of the documents as evidence against Estrada.

``We have rules of procedure, these documents do not support any allegations of fact in the articles of impeachment,'' said Flaminiano.

Prosecutors said the disputed cheque was signed in an illegible hand by someone named either `Jose Velarde' or `Jose Valhalla' but the handwriting bore striking similarities to Estrada's signature on a 500-peso Bill.

They said a British handwriting expert they had hired would prove their contention but they needed to see the actual cheque first.

Equitable-PCI Bank, the country's third largest bank, surrendered the documents last week on court orders after Davide warned bank officials they would be prosecuted for contempt if they defied the order.

``We shall continue to cooperate in whatever way we can to ferret out the truth,'' the bank said in a statement on Sunday.

``We would welcome any action of the impeachment court on the sealed documents...and we are confident that all this will not only clear the air but will also aid the impeachment court in determining the truth.''

Leftist groups calling for Estrada's resignation were assembling in different parts of Manila on Monday for demonstrations to demand the opening of the bank documents.

One group was preparing to march on the Senate building where the trial was being held.

A two-thirds vote by the 22-member Senate is required to convict and remove Estrada from office. Conviction on any of the four charges is enough to topple the Estrada Presidency.