Estrada mistress willing to testify

Was he sleeping with the enemy?

This is the question Justice Secretary Hernando Perez will try to answer as he considers whether to accept the testimony offered by an alleged mistress of ousted President Joseph Estrada.

Perez said a lawyer called to ask if he would be willing to hear the testimony of the woman who is now willing to testify against her disgraced lover.

ABS-CBN Channel 2, quoting Leyte Rep. Sergio Apostol, identified the woman as Philippine Airlines employee Rowena Lopez. Apostol was a member of the House panel that prosecuted Estrada in his impeachment trial.

Reports said Lopez is in the United States where she has given birth to Estrada’s child. Estrada had earlier denied being Lopez’s lover.

"We have to check first on what they know," Perez said. "She might be the most guilty so we are not yet ready to reveal her name."

Perez said the woman witness was the fourth person to volunteer information. He stressed that go-vernment lawyers still have to decide if such testimonies can be used in the plunder charges that are expected to be filed against Estrada.

Perez confirmed that Estrada’s bosom buddy Charlie "Atong" Ang had also sent an emissary to volunteer testimony against Estrada but the Department of Justice (DOJ) still has to determine if Ang is qualified to be a state witness.

Estrada’s personal lawyer Edward Serapio also allegedly asked to speak with Perez, his former law professor, to offer his testimony but the DOJ rejected it because it would violate the lawyer-client confidentiality rule.

So far, the DOJ has only accepted the testimony of businessman Mark Jimenez, Estrada’s former adviser on Latin American affairs, who offered reveal information on Estrada’s alleged illegal transactions with several big corporations.

"I only hope the public will be patient because we are swamped by witnesses who are coming forward,’ Perez said.

But Estrada, making his first public appearance since he was ousted from office, laughed off the government’s claims and even offered to give up any alleged ill-gotten wealth state lawyers will be able to uncover.

"I tell the powers-that-be that they can go ahead and confiscate all these questioned assets, properties and bank accounts that have been attributed to me," he said.

Speaking at the general assembly of his Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) at the Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan, Estrada bewailed the betrayal of his friends.

"They (the government) are forcing and threatening several people to testify against me. They promise and offer things for these witnesses to tell lies," Estrada said.

"Kulang na lang pati si First Lady ay tumestigo laban sa akin," he added, apparently unaware that the DOJ was already thinking about calling one of his mistresses and not former First Lady Luisa Ejercito.

In his speech to his party mates, Estrada lamented the harassment and threats to which his family has been subjected but he insisted on his innocence and vowed to stay in the country and face the plunder charges against him.

Narvasa, Mendoza beg off from case

But his lawyers during the impeachment trial, arguably among the best lawyers in the country, have also withdrawn support from the disgraced president.

However, former Sen. Rene Saguisag has accepted the job of defending the former president after retired Chief Justice Andres Narvasa and former Solicitor General Estelito Mendoza declined to take the case due to "poor health."

Saguisag, a former member of the respected MABINI group of activist lawyers, told The STAR that he had always lawyered for Estrada until the ousted leader assumed office in June 1998.

The lawyer said he has always been close with Estrada until the former chief executive announced that he would allow the late President Ferdinand Marcos to be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

But the two friends have patched up their differences and Saguisag’s wife Dulce was even named to the Cabinet to replace then Vice President Gloria Arroyo at the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Saguisag will be assisted by the brothers Sigfrid and Raymond Fortun, who gained nationwide recognition during Estrada’s impeachment trial.

Sigfrid Fortun on Tuesday warned Senate secretary Lutgardo Barbo against turning over to the Ombudsman the sealed envelope which reportedly contains vital evidence against Estrada.

Estrada, a few hours before he departed from Malacañang on Jan. 20, on public television ordered his lawyers to allow the opening of the envelope.

Fortun warned that he would "take all appropriate legal action against anyone who contravenes or violates the last official action of the Senate."

The Senate had voted, 11-10, that the sealed envelope be excluded from the evidence against Estrada - the move that pushed citizens to protest in the streets and begin the uprising that ousted Estrada.

"Accordingly it may be both wrongful and unlawful for you or any personnel in the impeachment court to break the seal and comply with the Ombudsman’s request without a contrary order from the Senate sitting as an impeachment court," Fortun said.

Fortun was reacting to a request by the Ombudsman for access to the envelope which they would use as evidence against Estrada, who has lost his legal immunity after being ousted by the civilian uprising.

NGOs call for truth commission

Meanwhile, the civic groups that led that uprising urged President Arroyo to immediately convoke a truth commission that would investigate the crimes of the Estrada administration.

The truth commission would be headed by citizens who have distinguished themselves as exemplars of integrity, transparency and public service, according to the Anti-Trapo Movement (ATM) and the Kongreso ng Mamamayang Pilipino II (Kompil II).

The two groups have drafted an executive order for the signature of Mrs. Arroyo and have tagged former Senate president Jovito Salonga, former Supreme Court justices Isagani Cruz and Abrahan Sarmiento, and Sister Cristine Tan as possible members of the commission.

Militant groups, on the other hand, cautioned the Arroyo administration from using the cronies and allies of Estrada as state witnesses.

Fisherfolk group Pamalakaya said Estrada’s allies are only turning the tables against the former president in order to stave off possible charges against them and save their ill-gotten wealth.

"Estrada’s former comrades want to gain mileage and escape charges to be filed in court against them," said Pamalakaya chairman Rodolfo Sambajon. — With reports from Marichu Villanueva, Mayen Jaymalin, Romel Bagares