Laquian to refute Ocampo testimony

To refute the testimony of a ranking bank executive, former presidential chief of staff Aprodicio Laquian may return to Manila and testify in the impeachment trial of President Estrada, Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora said yesterday.

Zamora told radio station dzRH that he was able to talk on the phone with Laquian, who is in Canada.

Laquian was named by Clarissa Ocampo, senior vice president of Equitable-PCI Bank, as one of several people who were present when Mr. Estrada signed a bank document bearing the name "Jose Velarde" early this year.

While Zamora admitted that Ocampo’s claims were "damaging," he said Laquian told him he could not recall such an incident.

"He said he would have to consult his notebook," Zamora said. "Laquian takes note of all of these events. He was a very assiduous note-taker. But offhand, he did not remember that incident."

Zamora said Mr. Estrada’s lawyers have not yet decided on whether to allow the former presidential chief of staff to testify.

"This matter is still being discussed by the lawyers… there is no indication yet if he needs to testify or not," he said.

Laquian left for Canada in March this year after he was fired by Mr. Estrada for joking before a media forum that presidential policies were crafted in late-night drinking binges with the "midnight Cabinet."

Laquian said earlier that his remarks about Mr. Estrada and his friends drinking were "pure hyperbole and had no basis in fact."

"It was my over-active mind, fired by intellectual hubris and goaded by the mischievous press that made me say those things," he added. "President Estrada was right in letting me go."

Meanwhile, Isabela Rep. Heherson Alvarez urged managers of other banks to open records involving Mr. Estrada’s transactions

"It may not only be the Equitable-PCI Bank where the President is using other people’s name and might have deposited millions of pesos," said Alvarez, secretary general of the opposition Lakas-NUCD party.

"It could be Allied Bank which is owned by presidential friend Lucio Tan or the Philippine National Bank," he said.

In a related development, Lakas said that Mr. Estrada has no option but to resign now after the whole world learned how he has deceived the country and amassed ill-gotten wealth.

Lakas spokesman Hernando Perez said Ocampo’s testimony is the proof needed by a large majority of "undecided" Filipinos to convince themselves that the President must be convicted and removed from office.

"The testimony of Ocampo that she was a foot away as President Estrada signed a P500-million personal loan to a crony under the fictitious name of Jose Velarde was the last piece in the jigsaw puzzle," he said.

"Ocampo vividly depicted in our minds how the President, by signing under a fictitious name, violated the law. There’s no turning back the clock. The President has no option now but to resign or face conviction not only by the Senate but by the entire nation," Perez said.

Militant groups urged the public to prepare for a post-Estrada scenario now that the Chief Executive’s conviction is almost certain.

"Now is the time to seriously contemplate a post-Erap scenario," said Sanlakas president Wilson Fortaleza as he stressed the need for a new leader who would be able to unite the country caused by Mr. Estrada’s ouster.

With the President’s "impending ouster," Fortaleza said the nation faces a new dilemma because Mr. Estrada would be succeeded by Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, whose approval rating is lower than the Chief Executive’s rating.

In other developments yesterday, Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said that Mr. Estrada’s right to due process was not curtailed when Ocampo was allowed to testify.

He said there will be no lasting damage from Ocampo’s testimony because whatever the inaccuracies or lies she could have said can be checked by the defense lawyers through cross examination.

Pimentel said the unanimous decision to allow the bank executive to testify proves the Senate’s independence and impartiality as an impeachment tribunal.

"Had Ocampo been prevented from testifying this would have created an ugly impression on the impeachment process," he said.

Pimentel also defended the two-minute speech accorded to senators to speak their minds on issues concerning the impeachment.

He said issues raised would help the Chief Justice make more reasonable and acceptable verdicts. – Marichu Villanueva, Eva de Leon, Mayen Jaymalin, Perseus Echeminada