Estrada may again attend plunder trial

Deposed President Estrada and his lawyers are open to returning to the plunder trial at the Sandiganbayan as the government prosecution panel prepares to wind up their presentation of witnesses and evidence against the ousted leader.

Should Estrada decide to return to the Sandiganbayan for his plunder trial, the original defense panel of the former President will no longer oppose the pending petition of the government prosecution panel to allow a live telecast of the trial being held in the anti-graft court.

Lawyer Raymond Fortun said yesterday that Estrada and his battery of defense counsels started to consider this possibility after President Arroyo publicly declared her desire to see the conclusion of the plunder trial before the end of her term in June 2004.

Fortun said Mrs. Arroyo’s statements were a cause of concern for the defense panel – their client’s refusal to recognize the proceedings at the Sandiganbayan would only benefit the prosecution panel in its effort to fulfill the President’s desire.

"If President Estrada would not allow us to return to the trial, the Arroyo administration could comply with the deadline (set by) President Arroyo (for the conclusion) of the plunder proceedings before the May 2004 elections," Fortun told The STAR.

Estrada cut off his participation in the plunder trial after he claimed to sense that the Arroyo administration is determined to convict him by creating a special court at the Sandiganbayan to try him.

Estrada’s defense panel includes Fortun, the panel’s youngest member, his older brother lawyer Sigmund Fortun, retired Supreme Court chief justice Andres Narvasa, ex-Justice Secretary Serafin Cuevas, and former Manila chief prosecutor Jose Flaminiano among them.

The former President initially actively participated in the proceedings at the Sandiganbayan and even personally attended hearings in the past.

But after his defense lawyers lost several petitions, one after another, including one motion for house arrest, Estrada withdrew in 2001 the appearances of his defense panel, prompting the Sandiganbayan to appoint lawyers for him.

Named by the anti-graft court to appear for Estrada as his defense counsels were Prospero Crescini, former judge Irene Jurado, ex-justice Manuel Pamaran, and Noel Malaya, including government lawyers from the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO). The PAO lawyers subsequently requested the court to withdraw their appearances for Estrada after he refused to cooperate with them.

Fortun said the defense panel conceded to the difficulties for court-appointed lawyers for them to defend Estrada at the plunder trial because all the witnesses and evidence are in their possession.

To date, he noted, the prosecution panel presented about 80 principal witnesses, excluding an almost equivalent number of the so-called "spear-shooters" or witnesses who were merely called by the court to authenticate certain documents as proof against Estrada.

Fortun said they plan to present the same number of witnesses in Estrada’s defense.

He said they may also ask key personalities such as "adverse witnesses" like retired Ombudsman Aniano Desierto, who filed the plunder case against Estrada, allegedly at the behest of the Arroyo administration.

Fortun said they would now agree to a televised trial for Estrada at the Sandiganbayan, which they stiffly opposed in the past.

"We opposed it then because that would mold the public opinion against our client, who has been denied his right to present his side during the Senate impeachment trial in the past," he said.

By allowing a televised trial of the case, "President Estrada can now present his side before the bars of public opinion," Fortun added.

He said the defense panel has yet to make the final decision on these matters since the prosecution panel has yet to wrap up their presentation.