Estrada in Courtroom for Plunder ArraignmentOusted Philippine President Joseph Estrada, facing plunder charges at the anti-graft court, is now seated in the courtroom for his arraignment early Tuesday afternoon.His co-respondents in the plunder case, namely, his son Jose Estrada and his lawyer Edward Serapio, are also inside the courtroom to enter their respective pleas. Estrada's wife, Senate Luisa Estrada, and his daughter and two other sons are also seated in the courtroom. Estrada was flown by helicopter to the compound of the House of Representatives in Quezon city, Metro Manila, and then was motored to the nearby anti-graft court to attend his arraignment on plunder charges. The former first family arrived at the anti-graft court shortly before 2 p.m. but they appeared in the courtroom only at around 2: 15 p.m. Estrada will be asked to answer the charges that he plundered a personal fortune of more than four billion pesos (about 80 million U.S. dollars) while in office as well as used an alias to hide ownership of bank accounts. Under Philippine laws, economic plunder is a heinous crime punishable by life imprisonment or death. Tuesday's appearance at the anti-graft court is the second for Estrada since he was arrested and incarcerated on a plunder complaint on April 25. The jailed ex-president appeared for the first time in the anti- graft court on June 27 for his arraignment on the lighter charge of perjury for alleged misdeclaration in his statement of assets and liabilities for 1999. Estrada, who came into power in June, 1998, was toppled by a military-backed popular uprising on January 20 this year for corruption scandals. |
| People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/ |