Lawyers urge Sandigan to allow bail for Erap

Lawyers of ousted President Joseph Estrada urged the Sandiganbayan yesterday to allow their client to post bail in order to contact witnesses that could prove his innocence in the plunder and perjury case he faces.

In an urgent manifestation, former senator Rene Saguisag, Estrada’s lead counsel, cited the 1948 case of Fernando Alano who escaped from detention to look for witnesses that could help refute the charges of rebellion complex with murder, arson and robbery against him.

The Supreme Court allowed Alano to post bail after finding his witnesses and surrendering to authorities, he added.

Saguisag said the same consideration should be accorded Estrada, who, like Alano, has been detained for years in a protracted trial.

"Some witnesses we could not agree to testify, and who are reluctant to go to Tanay, where they may not be allowed to go anyway, may be persuaded outside," he said.

The 68-year-old Estrada is now under "house arrest" at his sprawling 18-hectare estate in Tanay, Rizal.

Earlier, defense lawyers had suggested a "city arrest" for Estrada, similar to that afforded former Indonesian dictator Suharto in Jakarta in 2000.

Under the proposal, Estrada would be taken from his Tanay estate and be allowed to stay within the limits of San Juan, where his son, Jose Victor Ejercito, is mayor.

However, the three-man special division hearing Estrada’s case said it would need more time to study the points raised by government prosecutors and defense lawyers before deciding whether to grant the ousted president’s petition for bail.

Earlier, Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa Ignacio said the government was not opposed to having Estrada take the witness stand, as long as he testified on the main charges he is facing, not simply arguing that he is not a flight risk. — Mike Frialde