Gov’t on Erap’s Swiss trip: Dream on

State prosecutors doubt former President Joseph Estrada would be allowed this time to leave the country for knee surgery, saying the petition has no basis.

Estrada asked the Sandiganbayan last week to allow him to leave for Switzerland to seek treatment for an ailing left knee.

"He must be dreaming of the Swiss Alps or he’s out to embarrass or insult the Sandiganbayan again. There is no urgent need for his surgery. There is no threat of permanent paralysis," Chief State Prosecutor Dennis Villa Ignacio told The STAR.

Villa Ignacio cited the anti-graft court’s decision in December granting Estrada a 90-day furlough so he could have surgery in the United States for an ailing left knee.

After the US Embassy denied his application for a visa, Estrada instead decided to stay in the country, claiming he could not afford the medical costs and that he wanted to help in the presidential bid of long-time friend Fernando Poe Jr.

"Where was the urgency there? And this time, the timing is also suspect. They are scheduled to present their evidence on Aug. 16. And now he wants to leave. It only bolsters our position that they really have no witnesses who could rebut our evidence," Villa Ignacio said.

"And now he will be using the same reason again? The resthouse arrest apparently gave him problems like that," he said, referring to the court’s recent decision to transfer Estrada’s place of detention from Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal, to his sprawling villa just outside the Army training base.

Estrada’s doctors say he is suffering from torn ligaments in both knees, arthritis in the pelvic region, a cataract and a cyst in his left eye and multiple slipped discs pressing against his spinal cord.

They said his back could deteriorate and become paralyzed if his knee condition does not improve.

Estrada’s wife, Sen. Luisa Ejercito, said they are currently looking for a doctor in Switzerland who can treat her husband. "He is getting old and it would be difficult for an old man to undergo a knee operation," she told reporters.

Prosecutors have opposed Estrada’s request to leave the country for medical treatment, fearing he might abscond.

Estrada is on trial for plunder, a capital offense punishable either by life imprisonment or death by lethal injection. Critics say granting Estrada furloughs was illegal because his alleged offense is non-bailable.

Estrada is accused of amassing millions of pesos from an illegal gambling protection racket and plundering government coffers during his aborted 31-month presidency.

He was toppled by a popular protest in January 2001 following massive corruption charges, which he denies.

Prosecutors suspect Estrada is stalling and that he does not have evidence to back him up.

The prosecution rested its case in April last year and the defense was originally scheduled to present its side in June. However, an Estrada motion that sought a dismissal of the charges against him delayed the trial. His motion was rejected.

Estrada argues the Supreme Court erred when it swore in Mrs. Arroyo to replace him after declaring the presidency vacant during the 2001 uprising against him.

Estrada refuses to recognize the Sandiganbayan’s authority, maintaining he was illegally ousted from the presidency and that he still enjoys parliamentary immunity.

He withdrew his lawyers early in the trial — which he claims is rigged — but the court appointed him counsel against his wishes. — With Jose Rodel Clapano