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Philippine Estrada Faces New Perjury Case
Deposed Philippine President Joseph Estrada faces another perjury case filed Monday with the Ombudsman, the anti-corruption inspector of the Philippine government.
This time, Estrada will be charged for allegedly falsifying his first statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SAL) as president in 1998, the Philippine newspaper Today reported Tuesday.
In a 5-page complaint, the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, a Philippine civil group, said Estrada declared an individual assets of 33.4 million pesos (654,900 U.S. dollars) in 1998 instead of the 85.5 million pesos (1.68 million dollars) that he actually owned.
Ombudsman Aniano Desierto said if the complaint is sufficient in form and substance, his office will immediately file new perjury charges against Estrada. He added that the new case may be consolidated with the old perjury case.
A certification dated August 29, 2001 issued by the Ombudsman showed that Estrada failed to file his SAL for the year 2000 as required by law.
Estrada is already facing a perjury case at the Sandiganbayan, the Philippine anti-graft court, for allegedly lying in his 1999 statement.
The deposed president, 64, was overthrown by a military-back popular up-rising on January 20. He is now facing a series of criminal charges including economic plunder and perjury.
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