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| Crucial Estrada case bank records opened in court
MANILA, Philippines (Reuters) -- A Philippine Senate court trying impeached President Joseph Estrada unsealed on Wednesday bank records alleged to contain damaging evidence against him but the prosecution said the documents appeared to have been doctored. Chief Justice Hilario Davide, presiding officer of the Senate court, had ordered the documents relating to an account held in Equitable-PCI Bank be opened after the defense withdrew their objections. Prosecutors had said the documents would show funds drawn from the account were used to buy a mansion for a movie starlet who became one of Estrada's mistresses. The prosecution has said an October 5, 1999, check was issued on the account for 142 million pesos ($2.8 million) which was signed in handwriting supposedly similar to Estrada's, but in a false name.
Estrada has pleaded not guilty to charges of bribery, corruption, betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the constitution and has said he will be acquitted. The charges stem from allegations that Estrada took about 400 million pesos ($8 million) in bribes from illegal gambling syndicates and pocketed 130 million pesos ($2.6 million) of excise taxes intended for tobacco farmers. Records tampered with?After an initial examination of the documents, which included specimen signature cards and account statements, prosecutors said the records appeared to have been tampered with. Equitable-PCI denied falsifying the papers and said its officers were prepared to testify at the trial. Prosecutor Romeo Capulong told the court that among the statements supplied, there appeared to be erasures in the balance amounts for the month of October 1999. "In the bank statement for the period Oct 1-31, 1999, there are entries here that appear to contain erasures in the column under balance," he said. The documents showed the bank account belonged to one "Jose Velarde," a mystery man without an address, a telephone, an occupation or a nationality. Capulong said: "I note that the signature on this check, even without the opinion of a handwriting expert, from a lay person's view, appears to be radically different from the specimen signatures that appear." Specimen signature cards and part of the bank statements were shown in open court, but Davide then ordered the documents be given only to counsel on both sides since they had not yet been admitted as evidence. Man without a countryThe cards were blank in the spaces for address, telephone number, business or occupation and nationality and the person who introduced the account-holder was named simply as "GLG." No questions were asked as to the identity of GLG. Equitable-PCI chairman George L. Go, a friend of Estrada's, resigned from his post on Tuesday saying that he wished to "assure the public that all bank records are in perfect order and beyond the influence of people or forces with hidden agendas." Go did not directly refer to the impeachment trial, but added: "Recent events dictate that we have now to flesh out our concern for depositors and clients in no uncertain terms." Estrada has denied ownership of the disputed bank account. "I have nothing to do with banks," he told reporters on Wednesday. The case took a new twist earlier this week after businessman Jaime Dichaves, also a friend of Estrada, told the court he was the one who issued the check and that he owned the account on which it was drawn. Dichaves's lawyers also opposed the opening of the bank records, saying it would violate his rights and the law on the secrecy of bank deposits. Another prosecution witness, Rufo Colayco, testified Estrada fired him as head of a state agency in 1999 after he refused to sign a contract allowing an Estrada friend to run a casino at a former U.S. Clark air base, now an industrial zone. Over defense objections, Colayco said he was told Estrada wanted a 35 percent share in the casino. Earlier on Wednesday, a Manila newspaper reporter testified that a high police officer had told her the Estrada administration was monitoring the phone calls of senators except for five who Estrada was sure would vote to acquit him. Reporter Christine Herrera of the Philippine Daily Inquirer refused to identify the officer. Estrada needs at least eight votes of the 22-member Senate to be acquitted. A vote by a two-thirds majority is required to convict and remove him from office. Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. RELATED STORIES: Philippine senators delay release of impeachment evidence RELATED SITES: President Joseph "Erap" Ejercito Estrada |
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