Jinggoy promises court he’ll return from US trip

Former San Juan mayor Jinggoy Estrada assured the Sandiganbayan yesterday he would return if the anti-graft court allowed him and his family to go on vacation in the United States.

Even if the anti-graft court cancels his P500,000 bail, the 40-year old actor told Justice Edilberto Sandoval: "I will come back definitely your honor because this is my country."

Estrada said his trip in the US will be the second time that he will be traveling abroad with his family. He claimed the last time he traveled was about six years ago.

He told reporters that he made a promise to his family to tour them in the US after his term as mayor ended. But this did not occur, he said, since he was detained with his father, former President Joseph Estrada, on plunder charges filed before the anti-graft court in April 2001.

His lawyer Noel Malaya said the younger Estrada has arranged for a flight on May 19 and June 14, but the departure date was extended by the anti-graft court to await the comment from the prosecutors on May 21 and decide whether to grant the travel request.

Asked about the risk of contracting Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, Estrada told special prosecutor Dennis Villa Ignacio that he is not bothered at all since the SARS virus is limited to a few countries and is not even a threat in the US.

"We’re not going to China, not even Hong Kong. There’s only a few cases of SARS in the US; it’s prevalent only in few other countries," he said. "Yes, I would not want to expose my children to the SARS virus," Estrada told Villa Ignacio.

Estrada said they would be "staying in California," categorically denying insinuations made by the prosecution panel that he intends to drop by Las Vegas.

Villa Ignacio has opposed the travel request, saying "there is no need for you to accompany them (wife and children)" because they have traveled to the US before. Besides, he said, Estrada "has no stress and no pressure" to justify a much needed rest and vacation.

The magistrates, led by Presiding Justice Minita Chico-Nazario, reminded both defense and prosecution panels that although an accused has the constitutional right to travel, the right is not without limits.

Malaya assured the anti-graft court that Estrada does not have any intention to flee since he would be coming back in time for the school opening in June.

Malaya explained the Estradas wanted "to be away from the public eye" for the meantime. "This will give him more opportunity to be alone with his family," the lawyer told the anti-graft court. The younger Estrada is one of the co-accused in the plunder case filed before the Sandiganbayan.

On March 6, the anti-graft court allowed the younger Estrada to post bail because prosecutors had yet to establish that he was involved in his father’s alleged illegal gambling protection racket.