Sandiganbayan orders ER Ejercito’s arrest

MANILA, Philippines – The anti-graft court Sandiganbayan on Monday ordered the arrest of ousted Laguna Gov. Emilio Ramon “ER” Ejercito III, also known as Jeorge “ER” Ejercito Estregan, for not showing up in the scheduled arraignment of his graft case in connection with an alleged anomalous insurance deal when he was still mayor of Pagsanjan.

However, his legal counsel, Antonio Jose Gerardo Paz, explained his client could not attend as he is still confined at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center (CSMC) in San Juan City since Sunday.

Paz presented before the court a medical certificate dated April 18, 2016 as proof. It indicated that his client was confined on April 17 due to symptoms of “community acquired pneumonia with moderate risks.”

Sandiganbayan Fourth Division, however, refused to honor Ejercito’s medical certificate. One of its junior members, Associate Justice Geraldine Faith Econg, also noted an erasure or apparent alteration on the date of the disqualified governor’s supposed confinement.

Econg added that the name of the doctor who supposedly attended to Ejercito and the signatory in the certificate did not tally. The certificate bore the name of a certain Doctor Bagno, while the one who signed it was a Doctor Maria Fe Alvarez.

Aside from the erring details, the medical certificate does not contain a dry seal or stamp of the CSMC.

Sandiganbayan Fourth Division Chair Associate Justice Jose Hernandez agreed with Econg doubting the authenticity of Ejercito’s medical certificate.

“This certificate has no value [to] this court. It cannot be used for legal purposes. This kind of medical certificate should only be presented in school,” Hernandez said.

Due to his absence in the scheduled arraignment, the anti-graft court ordered the issuance of a bench warrant of arrest against Ejercito as well as the forfeiture of his P30,000 bail bond which he earlier posted.

The Sandiganbayan gave Ejercito a period of 30 days to comment or defend himself from the show cause order.

Ejercito and eight other individuals face graft charges in connection with an insurance deal between the Pagsanjan municipal government and the First Rapids Care Ventures in 2008 when he was still a mayor of the town.

According to the Ombudsman, who filed the case last month, the respondents failed to hold a public bidding and awarded the deal to a company that has no license or certificate of authority to operate from the Insurance Commission.

In May 2014, the former governor was also unseated by the Commission on Elections for allegedly overspending in the 2013 elections. The poll body’s decision was upheld by the Supreme Court in February 2015.

RELATED: ER indicted for graft over boatmen’s insurance deal