Court: No JV wedding in Tanay

The Sandiganbayan denied yesterday the requests of former President Joseph Estrada to have the wedding and reception of his son, San Juan Mayor Joseph Victor Ejercito be held at his Tanay resthouse and for him to visit his ailing mother every weekend.

"The Tanay resthouse is a detention center. It is not a social hall," Associate Justice Francisco Villaruz told Estrada’s lawyer, former Senator Rene Saguisag.

Special Division chair and Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Teresita Leonardo de Castro, however, told Saguisag that the court is allowing Saguisag to file a motion seeking permission for Estrada to attend the wedding and reception at another venue.

Asked to comment, Ejercito said the ruling was "un-Christian." — Mike Frialde, Non Alquitran