Erap to GMA: Be ready to face criminal raps

MANILA, Philippines - Former President Joseph Estrada advised President Arroyo, her Cabinet members and her cronies to prepare for the various criminal charges that would be filed against them after Arroyo’s term ends in June 2010.

Estrada gave the unsolicited advise in reaction to Mrs. Arroyo’s potshot aimed at him, that those who have gone to jail had no right to criticize her administration for alleged corruption.

He said that not all who went to jail – like the late Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. and South African anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela – were guilty of the crime they were charged with.

“When I was removed unconstitutionally, they conspired, yet they were able to prove nothing – that I stole even one centavo from the people. In fact, in all of the six years the trumped up charges against me were heard, not a single contract tainted by anomaly surfaced,” Estrada said.

Estrada said Mrs. Arroyo and the people surrounding her should prepare for the charges that would be filed against her for alleged graft and corruption that includes the cancelled government contract on the national broadband network (NBN) with the Chinese firm ZTE Corp. that involved $190 million in kickbacks and bribes that reportedly went to the pockets of officials of the Arroyo administration.

He said once Arroyo steps down from office and loses her immunity from suits, she would be confronted by testimonies of NBN-ZTE whistleblowers Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada and Joey de Venecia, son of former House speaker Jose de Venecia. 

“The day Arroyo delivered her State of the Nation Address (SONA) is best described as the Day of Lies, especially considering her fantastic claim that the economy improved under her watch despite the global economic slowdown,” Estrada said.

Estrada said the truth, which was hidden by the unbelievable macroeconomic numbers cited by Arroyo during her SONA, is that the Philippine economy contracted by 3.8 percent last year, adding that the P2.44 trillion in debt incurred by Arroyo from 2001 to 2005 alone is more than the accumulated debts totaling P1.46 trillion during his term and those of Presidents Fidel Ramos and Corazon Aquino.

“Mrs. Arroyo had no right to say thank you to Filipinos for allowing her to lead the government because she did not get her mandate legitimately. She grabbed power in 2001 and stole the elections in 2004 from FPJ (Fernando Poe Jr.). So, she was an illegitimate president who, during her SONA, was just trying to get some semblance of acceptance from the people. She had stolen the presidency not once but twice, and even admitted to cheating in 2004 by saying ‘I am sorry’ at the height of the ‘Hello, Garci’ scandal,” Estrada said.

Estrada said Arroyo was so insecure about her hold on power that she asked then Justice Secretary Hernando Perez to offer him to go into voluntary exile so that the trumped up charges against him would not be filed.

He said the thousands of people who had rallied against Arroyo during the SONA manifest the overwhelming disgust of the people toward her after nearly half of the population became poorer and a third of Filipino families experience hunger.