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Filipino-Americans express mixed reactions over landmark verdict
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Former president Joseph Estrada has been found guilty beyond reasonable doubt of plunder by the Sandiganbayan and has been sentenced to life imprisonment.
At the same time, the anti-graft court ordered the freezing of Estrada’s accounts estimated at $87 million.The funds, including protection money from illegal gambling operators, embezzled tobacco taxes, and commissions from insider trading, will be “forfeited,” the anti-graft court ruled.
But Estrada son, Senator Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, and lawyer Eduardo Serapio, were acquitted by the anti-graft court in its ruling issued Wednesday that capped a six-year trial for the former leader who was ousted in a popular revolt in 2001.
The perjury case against Estrada however was dismissed.
The court said it would allow Estrada to stay at his resthouse in Tanay, Rizal until further orders. The former leader said he did not want any special treatment.
“Our client is prepared to be taken to the National Penitentiary now,” his lawyer Rene Saguisag said.
Estrada is considered the first Philippine president to have been criminally convicted. Estrada’s lawyers said they would read the decisions first to determine their options.
The former president was composed when Teresa Pabulayan, Sandiganbayan Special Division Clerk of Court, read the dispositive portion of Criminal Case 26558 for plunder but winced when he heard the word “guilty.”
The 70-year-old former action star-turned politician had repeatedly insisted that the charges against him were politically motivated.
The case against Estrada has marked a bitter chapter in Philippine politics that began when he was ousted from power in 2001, a move which led to violent protests in the streets.
Estrada repeatedly denied the corruption allegations, accusing the business elite, his successor President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the powerful Roman Catholic Church of conspiring against him because of his populist platform. He said that he had twice rejected offers from Arroyo to clear his name in exchange for his voluntary departure from the Philippines.
“I told them that I will never leave the country and I am prepared to face the charges against me,” he said. “Because of this, I was not only arrested and jailed, I was also humiliated and charged with a non-bailable offense of plunder,” he said.
During the trial he has been held at his luxurious compound, and the court ruled he would be remained under house arrest until further orders.
The military had put troops on high alert to ensure calm for the announcement of the verdict, with extra forces placed on standby in military bases around Manila to aid police if necessary. Schools near the court were ordered closed, and President Arroyo was advised by her security staff to remain in the palace.
The case against Estrada has been a tricky one for Arroyo, who succeeded Estrada in 2001.
The guilty verdict against Estrada, who remains popular among much of the nation’s poor, risks setting off demonstrations in the streets. An acquittal would have suggested she had come to power six years ago without a mandate.
In 2001, thousands of Estrada supporters tried to lay siege to the presidential palace to reinstate him. Arroyo declared a state of emergency and called in troops to quash what she later said was an uprising aimed at toppling the government. Four people died in that incident, while over 100 were arrested.
In a taped message smuggled to a radio station on the eve of the verdict, Estrada said he believed the public had already decided he was innocent.
“I have been in detention for six years, four months and 17 days,” he said. “But because of your prayers, help and love I have survived this heavy burden.”
“I am prepared because I have already been acquitted by the people,” he said. “My personal freedom is no longer important.”
Meanwhile, several Fil Am groups and individuals expressed mixed reactions over the verdict.
In a statement, The Philippine Forum, a non-profit organization in New York said, “ The Sandiganbayan decision only demontrated how the Philippine justice is flawed and lenient towards the elite and the powerful. Though former President Joseph Estrada was found guilty of plunder, he was cleared of perjury and two of his co-accused were found not guilty. Moreover, the court granted Estrada with so many special privileges that were not usually available to ordinary inmates.
We can only hope that the same haste with which the Sandiganbayan under the Arroyo administration displayed in deciding on the Estrada case will be applied to other plunder and corruption cases, such as those of the still unresolved Marcos hidden wealth and definitely against Mrs. Arryo herself and her family when the time comes.”
On the other hand, Mike Miguel, a Fil Am Wall Street broker said, “ This is obviously a politically motivated verdict. It will do nothing but further divide the nation. It’s a shame”.
The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan, New Patriotic Alliance), one of the complainants in the plunder case against former President Joseph Estrada, accepts the decision of the Sandiganbayan convicting the former president of the crime of plunder.
“The verdict offers a small measure of justice and is acceptable insofar as it points out the wrongdoings of the former president.
Let the Estrada verdict serve as a stern warning against the current occupants of Malacanang who may end up with the same fate because their crimes are far, far worse than the ones Estrada was convicted of.
The significance of the Estrada verdict would be greatly diminished if the same standards of justice do not apply to the officials of the Arroyo government. The president and her close associates have been accused of systematic corruption on a far bigger scale than Estrada. We hope that the Estrada verdict will set a legal precedent that may be useful if ever Arroyo is prosecuted in similar cases of plunder, corruption and perjury.
The crisis hounding the Arroyo presidency will not simply go away with the fact that Estrada was convicted by the Sandiganbayan. The paranoia and insecurity exhibited by the Arroyo regime before the promulgation of the verdict stems from a deep political crisis that is the result of the Arroyo regime's lack of legitimacy and gross corruption. This crisis will continue since the people want Arroyo to be held accountable as well”.
With reports form MNS
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AMSTERDAM - Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Maria Sison was freed Thursday, after a Dutch court found there was insufficient evidence to hold him on murder charges.
Sison had been arrested Aug. 28 in Utrecht, where he has lived in self-imposed exile for two decades, for allegedly ordering two rivals killed in Manila.
He was met by his wife and a small group of supporters after his release from Scheveningen prison outside The Hague, where he had been held much of the time in isolation. He was to address reporters at a celebration at his office in Utrecht later.
Judges said it was clear the Communist Party of the Philippines was responsible for the slayings, and that the decision to kill the two men was taken ‘’within the party structure.’’ But there was too little evidence to link Sison directly, the ruling said.
"There is much support in the evidence for the view that (Sison) still plays a prominent role in the Central Committee of the CPP and its military arm, the New People’s Army,’’ judges at the Hague District Court said in a summary of their ruling.
But they said the evidence was insufficient to show that Sison "had a conscious and close cooperation with those in the Philippines who carried out the deed.’’
The ruling also said there was inadequate evidence to prosecute Sison for inciting the killings. Prosecution spokesman Wim de Bruin said the prosecution planned to appeal the decision to release Sison.
"Obviously there’s a big gap between the opinion of the prosecutors and that of the judges, and we’re disappointed’’ about the release Wim de Bruin said.
"In the meantime, the investigation will continue, and Mr. Sison remains a suspect.’’
Sison was accused of ordering the murder of Romulo Kintanar in 2003 and Arturo Tabara in 2004. The Communist Party, which the European Union designated a terrorist group in 2002, issued statements claiming it carried out both slayings.
"We’re very happy Joma has been released now after 15-16 days of solitary confinement,’’ said his close aide Luis Jalandoni, referring to Sison by his nickname. "We are thankful to his lawyers, who worked very hard for his release and supporters around the world, he said.
In 1992, Kintanar and Tabara broke away from the mainstream Communist Party due to differences over whether to pursue Maoist revolutionary strategy, upon which Sison founded the party in 1968 and its armed wing in 1969.
Dutch authorities declined to disclose the nature of the evidence against Sison, but said it originated in both the Netherlands and the Philippines. His lawyers had been instructed not to disclose information from two hearings held since Sison’s arrest.
In Manila, National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, who had revealed that the government helped the families of the two murdered men file the case in the Netherlands, said he ordered "increased protection for the complainants and other individuals who may be the object of (New People’s Army) vengeance.’’
"We have received information from a very reliable source the NPA will undertake something major in metro Manila,’’ he said.
Bayan, the Philippines’ largest left-wing federation which staged protests at the Dutch embassy demanding Sison’s freedom, cheered his release.
"This is just one small victory against the Philippine, Dutch and US governments, that conspired to persecute Sison,’’ said the group’s secretary general, Renato Reyes.
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo hailed Sison’s arrest at the time, and issued an offer of amnesty to any fighters loyal to the communist rebellion who turned in their guns.
The Philippine government has long sought to bring Sison home to face charges stemming from his leadership of the rebel movement. But no extradition treaty exists between the Philippines and the Netherlands. Manila removed one obstacle toward such a treaty last year when it abolished capital punishment.
Sison describes himself as a political consultant for the National Democratic Front, which has been engaged in off-and-on peace talks with Manila to end the 39-year insurgency. The talks broke down in 2004, and the latest amnesty offer was designed to help restart negotiations. - AP
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NEW YORK ––The Filipino community in New York and New Jersey is gearing up for a major celebration to welcome the visit of Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on September 26 to 28 to meet U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and other officials in New York.
Deputy Consul General Millie Thomaczeck said that Ms. Arroyo would speak at a gathering of women in Waldorf Astoria Hotel then she will have a meeting with Rice to discuss security and women’s issues.
In the afternoon, Ms. Arroyo will meet top executives and businessmen in New York to discuss joint ventures and foreign investments to the Philippines. The Philippine delegation has prepared a smart powe point presentation to attract American investors to invest in technology, outsourcing, mining, accounting and other enterprises in the Philippines.
Ms. Arroyo will also attend the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York to participate in discussion that promotes regional security, economic partnership and peace building.
On September 28, Ms. Arroyo will meet leaders and representatives of Filipino American organizations at The Teaneck Marriott at Greenpointe in Teaneck, New Jersey to consult them and ask them to help in nation building.
Filipino Americans pump dollars to the Philippine economy when they send remittances of about $10 billion a year.
The Philippine government said global OFW remittances may well approach and breach 14 billion dollars in 2007, noting the BSP’s report that the 1.1 billion dollars remitted in June this year “marks the 14th straight month that OFW remittances have sustained at more than one billion dollars monthly.”
Amidst the development, Labor and employment secretary Arturo Brion said that major banks in the Philippines have now joined hands to develop a distinct and more affordable global remittance system benefiting the OFWs in linkage with the Department of Labor and Employment, particularly its newly established National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NRCO).
“I laud BSP for ensuring global remittance services, in effect making it more convenient and efficient for OFWs to remit their earnings,” Brion said, adding that the synergy between the NRCO and banking institutions will boost reintegration of the country’s modern day heroes to the economic mainstream on their return.
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CHICAGO, Illinois – Filipino superstar Nora Aunor will be back before the Superior Court of Los Angeles in California on October lst to put closure to the drug charges filed against her for alleged possession of controlled substance and a glass of pipe.
A court spokesperson said Ms. Aunor, whose real name is Nora Cabaltera Villamayor, 53, is due to pay a fine of $250.00 before Judge Cynthia Rayvis.
The fine is part of “18-month deferred entry judgment” issued last March 29, 2006 by Judge James Brandlin.
“Yes, this is her last court-ordered appearance on this case. I am confident it will be indeed the last one,” according to an email response from Ms. Aunor’s criminal lawyer Claire N. Espina from her office out of southern California city of Encino.
When asked if she will encourage Ms. Aunor to return to the Philippines after the dismissal of the case, Ms. Espina said that the songstress “was always free to return to the Philippines at any time. There was no impediment to this trip back to the Philippines based upon the case in question.
Whether she will go or not is something her business manager can address. I am copyingNorie Sayo, her business manager with this email.”
When asked if Ms.Aunor runs the risk of being barred from returning to the U.S. in thelight of “9/11’ and “Patriot Act” despite the impending dismissal ofMs. Aunor’s felony drug case if Ms. Aunor returns to her motherland, Ms. Espina demurred and referred the query to Ms. Aunor’s immigration lawyer, Lourdes Santos Tancinco, based in San Francisco, California.
Under the deferred judgment, if Ms. Aunor is not arrested for any violationduring the 18-month period, “the plea is withdrawn, as if (it was)never made, there is no record of conviction, and the case isdismissed, and arrest stricken from the record.”
Ms. Espina said,Nora was granted full credit for all the group sessions she attended inthe Drug Court program and was not required to attend any more sessionsduring those 18 months.
Ms. Aunor also passed in excess of 40drug tests while under Drug Court and is no longer required to undergoany drug testing. She will need to return to court in October 2007 forthe closure of the case unless defense makes a motion for earlytermination, which we may decide to make prior to October 2007.
Ms.Aunor’s guilty plea comes nearly a year after she was arrested forpossession of eight grams of methamphetamine (commonly known as shabu)and a glass of pipe in her carry-on bag at the Los AngelesInternational Airport while she was on a domestic plight to Oakland,California. She was arrested on March 30, 2005.(lariosa_jos@sbcglobal.net)
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NEW YORK---- Specially trained DVD-sniffing dogs that were utilized in the Philippines to battle piracy were used in a succesful raid of pirated media in Queens.
After raiding Filipino and Malaysian shops, to combat anti-piracy, government investigators, announced the seizure of thousands of counterfeit DVDs from three retail outlets in Jamaica, and the arrest of three suspects.
The Queens Chronicle reported that the Motion Picture Association of America’s Executive vice president and director of anti-piracy operations John Malcolm, actively participated in criminal investigation.
Charged with second-degree trademark of counterfeiting and failure to disclose the origins of recording were: Ibrahim Diallo, of Jamaica, Mohamed Sene of the Bronx and Michael Williams of Jamaica. They are being held pending arraingment in Queens County Criminal Court.
The Queens Chrinicle reported that the disc-sniffing dogs are two black Labrador Retrievers, who are the first animals trained to detect the scent of polycarbonate and other chemicals used in optical discs. They are sponsored by the MPAA as part of an initiative to combat copyright infringement relating to motion pictures and DVDs.
“The MPAA has a multi-pronged approach to fighting piracy, including public outreach and enforcement. And since last year, we’ve added two more very talented crime fighters to our arsenal, Lucky and Flo, the world’s first DVD-sniffing canines,” Malcolm told Queens Chronicle.
The two black labradors retrievers, are the first animals trained to detect the scent of polycarbonate and other chemicals used in optical discs.
Raids in Philippines and Malaysia yielded 1.9 million pirated discs with an estimated street value of more than $3.5 million were seized, as well as 97 burner towers used to produce the pirated discs and plant valued at $2 million, the Queens Chronicle said.
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