Jinggoy wants plunder trial to start; Revilla seeks furlough

MANILA, Philippines - After previous postponements, former senator Jinggoy Estrada has asked the Sandiganbayan to set the start of the trial of his plunder case “as soon as possible.”

His co-accused, former senator Ramon Revilla Jr., asked the Sandiganbayan again to allow him to leave his detention next week to undergo dental procedures.

In a motion filed before the anti-graft court’s Fifth Division on Aug. 17, Estrada said his camp is ready to see what the prosecution has to offer as witnesses and evidence in the trial proper.

In a separate motion also filed on Aug. 17, Estrada asked the anti-graft court to comply with the Supreme Court (SC) Administrative Memorandum No. 15-06-10.

Estrada said that under the SC memorandum, witnesses who will testify on the authenticity, due execution and contents of public documents or reports, should no longer take the witness stand during trial. Instead, their testimonies shall be “in the form of subscribed written statements, affidavits or judicial affidavits.”

The trial of Estrada’s plunder case was supposed to start on July 17 but it was deferred after his camp, at the last minute, filed a motion objecting on the prosecution’s attempt to include some stipulations or additional matters on the draft pre-trial order (PTO) earlier issued by the court.

The PTO sets the limit on the issues, witnesses and documentary exhibits for the trial.

In a resolution dated Aug. 14, the Fifth Division denied Estrada’s motion and allowed the prosecution to include additional stipulations in the draft PTO.

Meanwhile, Revilla asked the First Division to be allowed to leave his detention cell in the Philippine National Police Custodial Center at Camp Crame on Aug. 25 for a routine dental checkup and treatment of cavities at the Gan Advanced Osseointegration Center in Makati City.

Revilla said his dentist, Steve Mark Gan, advised that he undergo a checkup after completing tooth implant surgeries in March and April.

Aside from previously allowing Revilla to undergo dental procedures, the First Division also granted his motion in June to visit for two days his 90-year-old father, former senator Ramon Revilla Sr., at the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig City.

Estrada and Revilla are facing plunder and graft cases for allegedly amassing kickbacks for allocating their Priority Development Assistance Fund to fake non-government organizations supposedly owned by alleged scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles.