Auditor’s slay irks Estrada

Jailed former President Joseph Estrada expressed concern yesterday over the murder of the Ilocos Sur provincial auditor who was to have testified for him in his corruption trial.

"We were supposed to use him as our witness at the Sandiganbayan," Estrada said of Ilocos Sur auditor Agustin Chan Jr. who, along with his driver, was killed in a daring daylight ambush in Bantay town last week.

The jailed leader, who is being tried for the capital offense of plunder, said the circumstances behind Chan’s killing are "suspicious" because the witness had given testimony at the Senate during the impeachment trial last year that would have exonerated him at the Sandiganbayan.

"He was the same provincial auditor who testified that the charges against me are baseless," Estrada said on local radio in an interview from the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City where he is detained.

The former president is accused, among other charges, of pocketing P130 million in kickbacks from tobacco excise taxes for Ilocos Sur. The charge sheet alleges that the money was delivered to him in 1998 by two friends, one of them former Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson, whose exposé led to the impeachment and eventual ouster of Estrada.

The former president said yesterday Singson had "asked me to have the chairman of the Commission on Audit at that time transfer that auditor to another area because he (Chan) would not cooperate with him (Singson)."

The murder, for which no one has been arrested, "is a sad development," Estrada added.

Opposition party spokesman Jesus Crispin Remulla said yesterday that as far as they can tell, Chan was killed because of his demand for Ilocos Sur officials to liquidate cash advances.

As this developed, Sen. Luisa Ejercito said she would personally attend the interment of the slain auditor in Baguio City today.

Remulla said that Chan had been asking Ilocos Sur Gov. Deogracias Savellano to show liquidation for more than P100 million in cash advances by the provincial government while Singson was also being made to account for more than P1 billion.

He chided the former governor for his aggressive reactions and statements when no one has yet pointed an accusing finger at him.

"For our part, we were merely calling on authorities to dig deeper into the incident, and yet Singson is already trying to turn the tables on us," Remulla said.

He promised to bare before the public the details of Chan’s audit reports "so the people can judge for themselves who would benefit from this dastardly act."

Meanwhile, Savellano assailed recent insinuations that his political camp was involved in the Chan killing.

He also said reports on alleged anomalies in the provincial government spending were "misleading."

"They are setting up the minds of the people," the governor said.

He clarified that the audit report did not recommend the filing of charges against him or Singson.

Plunder trial to resume Oct. 17

Justice Secretary Hernando Perez said yesterday Estrada’s trial at the Sandiganbayan will resume on Oct. 17 and 18 as scheduled after the Supreme Court denied two motions filed by the jailed leader’s lawyers.

Speaking before the Angeles City Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines chapter in Pampanga, Perez confirmed the court ruling denying Estrada’s motion for status quo pending another motion questioning the constitutionality of the plunder law.

"So the trial will continue on Oct. 17 and 18, although I understand the lawyers of Mr. Estrada will not be available. One will get sick, the other will go somewhere and one will have another appointment," Perez said.

He pointed out that prosecutors were starting to present the evidence when Estrada’s lawyers questioned the constitutionality of the plunder law before the Supreme Court.

Perez noted that former senator Renato Saguisag, one of Estrada’s lawyers, was among those "who as a member of the congressional bicameral committee voted on the final version of the plunder law."

"We on the side of the government claim that the law is valid having already convicted someone from the Bureau of Internal Revenue under the plunder law," he said. – Efren Danao, Ding Cervantes