PNP eases security for Erap after threats found without basis

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has relaxed security around jailed President Joseph Estrada after the threat on his life was found to have no basis.

Chief Superintendent Romeo Hilomen, director of the PNP –Police Security Protection Office, said the PSPO received information about the threat on Estrada’s life last Feb. 1, prompting them to implement strict security measures to ensure his safety.

He said the threat prompted them to deploy 20 additional policemen to secure Estrada, who already had about 50 police security escorts.

Because of the threat, even Senate President Manuel Villar and his wife, Las Piñas Rep. Cynthia Villar, were barred from visiting Estrada last Feb. 10 in his resthouse in Tanay, Rizal, where he is detained on plunder charges filed before the Sandiganbayan.

"After we received the threat, we conducted validation and after about two weeks we found no basis so we loosened the security on the former president," said Hilomen during Talakayan sa Isyu ng Pulis (TSIP), a weekly forum sponsored by the PNP.

When asked if Estrada’s political affiliates can now visit him, Hilomen said anyone who is planning to visit must first secure permission from the Sandiganbayan and PNP chief Director General Oscar Calderon.

"You should remember that Estrada is a detainee, and certain rights are curtailed a detainee. You better ask the Sandiganbayan and the PNP-PSPO first before visiting him, that’s the procedure," Hilomen said.

He believes that less than a hundred policemen would be enough to ensure Estrada’s safety. Should more security personnel be needed, Hilomen said the PSPO can easily call on members of the Philippine Army’s 2nd Infantry Battalion, who are stationed near Estrada’s resthouse in Tanay, Rizal.

Newsreel case goes to CA

The camp of detained President Joseph Estrada will file a petition for certiorari before the Court of Appeals after the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) appeals committee released its decision denying their motion for reconsideration on the public exhibition of the controversial newsreel "Ang Mabuhay Para sa Masa (To Live for the Masses)."

Estrada’s lawyer, former immigration commissioner Rufus Rodriguez, said they will elevate the case to the appellate court because the MTRCB’s decision constituted a grave abuse of authority and directly violates his client’s right to free expression as well as the public’s right to be informed.

"At no time has Estrada ever been a clear and present danger to the government or society in general, and thus for this alone the MTRCB’s decision has no basis in fact and is therefore unacceptable," Rodriguez said in a statement.

He also maintained that the MTRCB is encroaching on the judiciary’s turf when it described the newsreel as libelous since only the courts can determine what is libelous.

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada – a son of the former president and his co-accused in the plunder case – has asked the Sandiganbayan to allow him to travel to Hong Kong this March to meet with overseas Filipino workers.

In a two-page "motion to travel," the younger Estrada’s lawyer, Alberto Flaminiano, urged the anti-graft court to allow his client to travel to the former British colony from March 20 to 23. – With Perseus Echeminada, Sandy Araneta