Jailed former President Joseph Estrada asked the Sandiganbayan anew yesterday to allow him to temporarily leave detention and go home to prepare for his looming trial for the capital charge of plunder.
Estrada’s lawyer, former Sen. Rene Saguisag, told the anti-graft court’s third division chaired by Justice Ana-cleto Badoy Jr. that the former president needs to check his records in preparation for his trial.
"The Estradas (the former president and his son Jinggoy) should be allowed to spend some time at home to look at their records to prepare for the pre-trial and trial, to be stipulated on as to dates and time," Saguisag argued.
Although the third division had earlier ruled against house arrest, Saguisag said the five-page manifestation was based on a resolution of the court’s first division that it had no objection to allowing Estrada to go home to prepare for his trial for perjury.
The first division, chaired by Presiding Justice Francis Garchitorena, has jurisdiction over the bailable charge of perjury against Estrada while the third division is hearing the plunder case, a capital and non-bailable offense.
Saguisag quoted the first division’s resolution as saying that it was not opposed to the motion asking that Estrada be allowed to prepare for his trial at home.
Garchitorena, however, said the first division would have to hear the positions of both defense and the prosecution at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
Reiterating his argument that other countries allow special treatment for their disgraced leaders, Saguisag cited the case of Chad dictator Hussein Habre, who was charged with gross human rights violations but allowed house arrest.
The third division rejected such arguments, saying there was no legal basis to place Estrada under house arrest. Eight justices of the Supreme Court, however, voted in favor of allowing Estrada to go home as a special dispensation.
The third division had earlier allowed Jinggoy, the former president’s co-accused, to leave the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) so he could wind up his business as outgoing mayor of San Juan town and turn over his office to his half-brother Joseph Victor Ejercito.
Both Estradas have been confined at the VMMC since May 12 and are supposedly undergoing treatment for minor ailments.
However, Jinggoy violated the conditions of his temporary leave, which only allowed him to go to his home at North Greenhills, San Juan from the town hall.
In the same manifestation, Saguisag also said that former Supreme Court Justice and former Justice Secretary Serafin Cuevas should not be barred from representing the former president.
Under Republic Act 910, retired magistrates, who receive pensions from the government, are barred from representing accused government officials in a lawsuit involving the government.
Justice Secretary Hernando Perez maintains that Cuevas, 72, should be prevented from representing Estrada because he still receives a monthly pension of P53,800 from the government.
Cuevas, however, argues RA 910 does not apply to him because Estrada is a former president and is no longer a government official.
While legal analysts believe that the Supreme Court would likely be the best forum to settle the issue, they also raised questions on the propriety of Cuevas’ position because judicial ethics require behavior above reproach.
Cuevas suggested that he temporarily waive his monthly pension while he is handling Estrada’s plunder case before the Sandiganbayan.
But Perez, speaking to reporters from Zamboanga City yesterday, said Cuevas may continue to represent Estrada so long as he drops all his benefits from the government.
"He may continue but he should stop getting benefits from the government. It is unfair that while we get benefits from the government, we are working on the other side," Perez said.
In his manifestation, however, Saguisag dismissed as "flimsy" the provisions of the law.
"An accused fighting for his honor, life and liberty should not be denied his right to choose on the flimsy ground that a pensioner is getting only now what he worked for so hard a long time ago," Saguisag said.