Mom of Erap accuser nearly arrested, sources say

The mother of the former beauty queen who has accused ousted President Joseph Estrada of involvement in money-laundering nearly missed being arrested by the police.

Insiders from Estrada’s camp said Blanquita Pelaez was supposed to accompany her daughter, Joelle Pelaez, in filing an estafa case against Estrada before the Makati City prosecutor’s office last Wednesday.

However, she decided not to go after being tipped-off that policemen were waiting for her with an arrest warrant, the insiders added.

Documents given by Estrada’s camp showed the warrant for the arrest of Pelaez was issued by Judge Winlove Dumayas of Makati Regional Trial Court, branch 58 on Nov. 3, 2003.

On March 14, 2003, the court found Pelaez guilty beyond reasonable doubt of frustrated estafa, which carries a maximum penalty of four years imprisonment, the documents showed.

According to the documents, Pelaez was accused of defrauding businesswoman Erlinda Sanceda of P540,000 by claiming that she can procure night vision goggles for the Philippine Navy at a lower price.

Sanceda told the court that the P540,000 was downpayment for the procurement of the night vision goggles worth P1,080,000, the documents showed.

According to the documents, Sanceda told the court that she has long been a supplier of equipment to the military and had believed that Pelaez had the capacity to facilitate the procurement of the night vision goggles in the United States, through her firm, Blanquita Pelaez Enterprises.

However, the court ruled that Pelaez had committed "false representation of power and influence," the documents showed.

"She encouraged complainant that just by giving a downpayment in the sum of P540,000, the former will be able to acquire the devises," the court said according to the documents.

"By accused false representation of power and influence (the alleged connections with a US company), when in truth in fact, he (sic) had no influence in the said office, induced the offended party to part as indeed she parted and was deprived of her money."

On the other hand, Pelaez said she did not accompany her daughter in filing the estafa case against Estrada because she was not feeling well at that time.

The case of frustrated estafa against her has been elevated to the Court of Appeals, she added.

Pelaez accused Estrada of harassment saying she has nothing to do with the case filed by her daughter against him.

"They should just get out of my life," she said in a phone interview. "I have nothing to do with what my daughter is doing. Why are they attacking and harassing me?"

Former Maguindanao Rep. Didagen Dilangalen, Estrada’s spokesman, yesterday said Estrada will file libel charges against Pelaez, her daughter, the editor-in-chief and publisher of Manila Standard Today newspaper and one of its reporters, Christine Herrera before the Manila City Prosecutors Office on Thursday.

Earlier, Estrada’s lawyers have asked the Sandiganbayan’s special division to allow their client out of his Tanay detention place to personally file the libel case.

Former immigration commissioner Rufus Rodriguez, one of Estrada’s lawyers, said Estrada will be file the P30-million libel case in connection with the series of articles that appeared in the Standard Today in which Joelle Pelaez had accused Estrada and eight other people of using her name and forging her signature to launder P2.07 billion worth of shares of stocks, securities, bonds and other certificates of indebtedness through their transactions with the government-controlled United Coconut Planters Bank.