Erap seeks b’day pass

Deposed President Joseph Estrada yesterday asked the Special Division of the Sandiganbayan to allow him to celebrate his 70th birthday with his mother, Dona Mary Ejercito in North Greenhills at his Polk Street mansion on April 19.

In a two-page motion, Estrada, through his lawyer, former senator Rene Saguisag, also asked that his birthday celebration be followed by a medical checkup at the Cardinal Santos Hospital, also in Greenhills, San Juan.

"An uncertain, imperfect world underscores the need to allow mother and son to meet on such special occasions even as we all realize that health is wealth," Saguisag told the court.

"And on the basis of the attached medical certificate, we see that his doctor advises that movant be confined at the nearby Cardinal Santos Hospital for complete cardiac examination and magnetic resonance imaging," he said.

Estrada, who is facing plunder charges before the Sandiganbayan, is being detained at his resthouse in Tanay, Rizal.

Earlier, Estrada asked the Sandiganbayan to allow him to seek a medical checkup during the Holy Week at the Asian Hospital and Medical Center in Alabang, Muntinlupa. However, the court failed to issue a decision.

Estrada’s personal physician, Dr. Lorenzo Hocson had recommended that he be treated at the San Juan Medical Center, where Hocson is medical director. – Mike Frialde