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Arroyo: Due Process to Be Observed in Estrada Trial
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has vowed that "due process will be the guiding light in the forthcoming trial" of deposed President Joseph Estrada on charges of plunder, a presidential press release said Friday.
Arroyo was quoted as saying, at the 92nd National Convention of the Churches of Christ and Christian Churches of the Philippines held here Thursday night, that politics is not the issue in Estrada's arrest.
Estrada was put in jail Wednesday after the anti-graft court ordered the arrest on charges of economic plunder, which is non- bailable punishable by death.
The plunder case was filed by the Office of Ombudsman earlier this month, accusing Estrada of illegally amassed 4.1-billion-peso (82 million U.S. dollars) during his 31 months in office.
Starting from Thursday, tens of thousands of his supporters have been converging at the Edsa Shrine, an intersection several kilometers from his jail, demanding Estrada's release.
At the convention, President Arroyo also called on the opposition candidates not to confuse the issue and make the Estrada arrest the focus of their campaign.
Congressional and local elections are set to be held on May 14, when more than 17,500 elective posts are up for grabs, including 13 seats in the 24-member Senate and all 250 seats in the House of Representatives.
"The charges have been filed in the proper court and due process will be observed," Arroyo said.
"He (Estrada) is entitled to his day in court and we will see to it that he will get this day in court," she added.
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