US court orders Ang’s extradition

A US district court has ordered the extradition of Charlie "Atong" Ang to face the plunder charges filed against him in the Philippines.

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said Judge Lawrence Leavitt of the US District Court in Nevada on Monday ordered the extradition of Ang before the end of the year.

Ang, a Filipino-Chinese businessman, is co-accused in the plunder and perjury trial of former President Joseph Estrada in the Sandiganbayan.

Leavitt ruled there is probable cause in the plunder case against Ang, which necessitates extradition.

Leavitt ordered Ang committed to the custody of the US Marshal until his extradition.

The court ordered Ang to turn himself in to the US Marshal not later than Sept. 13.

According to Gonzalez, Ang filed an emergency motion to extend his surrender date.

The former Estrada adviser, through his lawyer Karen Winckler, urged the court to give him 10 more days to surrender, ANC (ABS-CBN New Channel) reported yesterday.

Though he has remained out of custody for almost four years, Winckler said Ang has cooperated with the court and is not a flight risk.

The court agreed to hear his motion at a hearing set on Saturday.

Gonzalez revealed Ang has offered to become a state witness against Estrada in his plunder case now being tried by the Sandiganbayan.

"He (Ang) is willing to be a state witness, but it is too late for that because the evidence of the prosecution has been closed already. He will be tried separately for plunder," Gonzalez said.

A close business associate and friend of Estrada, Ang was made consultant of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor).

Despite Ang’s alleged involvement in several criminal activities, he managed to get in Estrada’s inner circle and was made consultant to Pagcor.

Ang gained notoriety when he was caught on videotape gambling with Estrada at the Casino Filipino at the Heritage Hotel in Pasay City.

The tape became a controversial campaign material when it was released by former Movie and Television Review and Classifiation Board chairman Manuel Morato, who was running against Estrada in the 1998 presidential elections.

It became more controversial following the mysterious disappearance of Pagcor employee Edgar Bentain, who was widely believed to have been Morato’s source of the video clip.

Gonzalez said Ang’s return to the country would help the government solve the mystery of Bentain’s disappearance.

"His (Ang’s) coming back can mean the final reopening of the Bentain case, who was kidnapped in connection with the video of Erap (Estrada) playing in the casino," he said.

"I am interested with his statement along that line. I have been given information now about who are instrumental for the disappearance of Bentain, where his body was disposed, who burned his body," Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez said the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) will be sending representatives to the US to escort Ang back to the country.

As a witness

Ang flew to Las Vegas with his family shortly after Estrada was ousted from office in a popular revolt, triggered by the aborted impeachment trial on the allegations made by Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson.

Ang was among the principal accused on the charges of plunder filed against Estrada before the Sandiganbayan.

The others included Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, lawyer Edward Serapio, Yolanda Ricaforte, Alma Alfaro, Eleuterio Ramas Tan and Delia Rajas.

Singson said Ang had funneled tobacco tax kickbacks amounting to P130 million and illegal gambling payoffs to Estrada.

Singson claimed he was designated by Estrada to take over the duties of Ang to collect money from jueteng operators starting November 1998.

Estrada received more than P400 million of the P545 million of jueteng money collected until August 2000, according to Singson.

Estrada’s defense lawyers claimed the return of Ang to the country would be to their advantage.

Former immigration commissioner and Estrada defense lawyer Rufus Rodriguez said they will make a formal offer of evidence on Oct. 2 to allow a separate trial for Ang.

"He is also an accused. There will be a probable separate trial. The prosecution might ask for a separate trial for him. I doubt the court will allow us to present him as a witness... It will come to a separate trial for him," Rodriguez said.

He said Estrada will gain advantage with the return of Ang because of the testimonies he gave before the Senate Blue Ribbon committee debunking all allegations made by Singson.

Ang denied Singson’s claim that he delivered P130 million to Estrada’s mansion on Polk Street in North Greenhills, San Juan.

The amount, according to Singson, was the kickback allegedly demanded by Estrada from the tobacco excise tax share of Ilocos Sur.

"If he comes here, he will be testifying in favor of the President (Estrada)," Rodriguez said.

The prosecution panel led by Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio also welcomed the possible return of Ang.

Villa-Ignacio said Ang’s extradition will not have an impact on the plunder case.

"Maganda ’yan. At least that proves that the long arm of the law will reach you even if you are in Nevada. But wala nang impact," he said.

Contrary to the claim of the defense, the prosecution panel will not use Ang as a rebuttal witness even if allowed by the court to comment on the evidence formally submitted by the defense lawyers.

"Our evidence is more than enough. We do not need him," Villa-Ignacio said.

Senator Estrada, for his part, said his family is unfazed over the reports Ang is about to be extradited.

Estrada said he believes the return of Ang to the country was orchestrated by the administration with the help of Singson.

"It’s the administration together with the demonstrably corrupt governor of Ilocos Sur who are egging Atong Ang to return," Estrada said.

Estrada pointed out the prosecution has already rested its case and the special prosecutor is apparently not too keen on pursuing the case any further.

"However, if he’s coming back to destroy again the credibility of our family, then that’s another matter," Estrada said. - With Mike Frialde, Marvin Sy