Estrada wins bid to delay trial

Detained former President Joseph Estrada yesterday won his battle to slow down his corruption trial in the Sandiganbayan even as the anti-graft court disqualified two government prosecutors at his request.

The three-member San-diganbayan special division ruled the trial would henceforth be held twice a week, instead of the current schedule of thrice a week, Presiding Justice Minita Nazario said.

The court had formed a special division solely to handle the cases against Estrada and ensure his trial was not delayed.

His lawyers argued they could not attend all three hearings every week as they had other cases to attend to.

State prosecutors have charged Estrada with deliberately slowing the pace of the trial in hopes of winning an eventual reprieve.

Estrada theoretically faces the death penalty for allegedly plundering nearly P4 billion during his 30 months in office. A bloodless popular revolt eased him from power in January 2001. He was indicted and arrested three months later.

Meanwhile, the Sandiganbayan disqualified yesterday the undersecretaries of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of Health (DOH) from acting as prosecutors against Estrada in the five criminal cases, including the capital offense of plunder, with the anti-graft court.

In a resolution penned by Associate Justice Edilberto Sandoval, the anti-graft court special division granted the motion for disqualification filed on Feb. 7 by Estrada, through his former legal counsel former Justice Secretary Serafin Cuevas, which questioned the legality of Ombudsman Aniano Desierto’s appointment of DSWD Undersecretary Dennis Villa-Ignacio and Health Undersecretary Alexander Padilla as designated Ombudsman prosecutors handling the cases against the ousted chief executive.

Sandoval, in his resolution, declared their designation as "inefficient" and directed them "to cease and desist from appearing as special prosecutors as they have no personality as such."

Desierto had designated Villa-Ignacio and Padilla by virtue of Section 31 of the Ombudsman Act which states that the "Ombudsman may utilize the personnel of his office and/or designate or deputize any fiscal, state prosecutor or lawyer in the government service to act as special investigator or prosecutor (in) certain cases."

In his motion for disqualification, however, Cuevas cited Section 13, Article VII of the Constitution which states that "the president, vice president and the members of the Cabinet and their deputies and assistants, shall not, unless otherwise provided in this Constitution, hold any other office or employment during their tenure."

He said that Villa-Ignacio and Padilla, being undersecretaries of DSWD and DOH, are lawyers serving for the government who "perform administrative and policy-making functions rather than the professional functions of state prosecutors."

In granting the disqualification of Villa-Ignacio and Padilla, Sandoval cited a Supreme Court ruling which states that the executive department is "more than a full-time job, requiring full attention,. specialized knowledge, skills and expertise."

He also cited a provision of the Constitution which imposes a strict prohibition on the President, Vice President, the members of the Cabient and their deputies and assistants from holding "other/dual/multiple offices or employment in the government or elsewhere."

The anti-graft court special division gave Villa-Ignacio and Padilla 15 days within which to submit their motion for reconsideration.

In a related development, the Sandiganbayan yesterday gave the 13 court-appointed de officio counsels of Estrada 48 hours, or until tomorrow, to prepare for the plunder case trial.

Estrada’s counsels originally asked for the deferment of the plunder trial for an additional 30 days but Nazario turned it down, saying the court could no longer afford to delay the proceedings of Estrada’s cases.

In yesterday’s hearing, counsel Prospero Crescini said his colleagues have not yet read the voluminous documents pertaining to the previous testimonies of seven prosecution witnesses, and the background of the plunder case against Estrada.

He added that he himself had not been furnished copies of the documents pertaining to the Estrada’s five cases, particularly the plunder case.

He said they needed time to prepare given the non-cooperation of the accused.

‘Filipino surgeons can do it here’

A Filipino orthopedic surgeon told the Sandiganbayan yesterday that Filipino surgeons are capable of doing the total knee replacement operation on jailed former President Estrada.

Testifying before the anti-graft court special division, Dr. Jose "Brix" Pujalte Jr., orthopedic surgeon of the Philippine Orthopedic Center, said at least 30 Filipino orthopedic surgeons, including himself, can do the knee surgery on Estrada and that it can be done in the country.

He also said that there are at least 15 major training institutions duly accredited by the Philippine Board of Orthopedics in the country that have the necessary equipment for total knee replacement surgery.

Pujalte, whose mentor is the renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Ramon Gustilo, said total knee replacement is not new in the country.

"Some 300 patients are operated on every year," he said. "The success rate of total knee replacement surgery is 90 percent; only two percent develop infections. A cobalt chrome or a super alloy is implanted to replace the denuded joint. I myself have conducted knee operations once a month since 1996."

Pujalte said a patient who has undergone total knee replacement can recuperate and return to normalcy (meaning, he will be walking) between six to eight weeks provided the operation has been done properly.

"Osteoarthritis is progressive, there is no cure," he explained. "It is not life-threatening, but it affects the quality of life."

Pujalte said the x-rays on Estrada’s knees which were submitted in court by the de officio counsels led by Public Attorneys Office director Perfida Rueda-Acosta showed that the patient’s knees are worsening and the osteoarthritis is progressing.

He said that Estrada should undergo total knee replacement.

He expressed willingness to conduct the surgery on Estrada if the anti-graft court will order him to do so, provided that it will also have the consent of the ousted chief executive.

Pujalte said it is not advisable for US-based doctors to come to the country to do the surgery since the recuperation of the patient has to be directly supervised by the surgeon who did the operation.

"A US-based doctor would have to be willing to stay in the country for six to eight weeks after the operation. The facilities are much better in the first world (US). But the surgery can be done in the country," Pujalte said.