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Manila Ready to Quell Disturbance on Estrada's Arraignment
The Philippine government is prepared to quell any disturbance on the peace and order situation by groups associated with former President Joseph Estrada during his arraignment Wednesday at the anti-graft court, an official said Tuesday.
National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said in an interview that the government has a contingency plan to assure the safety of the former president when he is transferred from the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMCC) to the court for the arraignment on perjury scheduled for Wednesday.
Golez said although there have been confirmed reports that some groups would attempt to stage a mass action similar to the aborted May 1 siege of the presidential palace, these groups would not succeed because the military and the police are ready to thwart their moves.
"As usual, there is the PNP and the members of the AFP to give protection and to foil any destabilization plans," Golez said.
According to Golez, the purported mass action is not being organized by big time opposition politicians but by middle-level individuals whom they have already identified.
The perjury charge pertains to Estrada's mis-declaration of his 1999 statement of assets and liabilities, which showed his net worth at only 35 million pesos (670,000 U.S. dollars).
The statement was contrary to the prosecution's allegations in the abortive impeachment trial that Estrada owned a number of multimillion-peso mansions and at least 3.23 billion pesos (62 million dollars) in his bank account under the alias Jose Velarde.
Estrada, who was elected to be president in 1998, was toppled by a military-backed popular uprising on January 20, due to corruption scandals.
On Monday the anti-graft court moved the June 27 arraignment of the deposed Estrada for plunder charge to July 10.
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