Former president Joseph Estrada scored a major victory in his perjury trial yesterday when the judge barred the prosecution's evidence aimed at proving accusations that he lied about his financial worth.
Estrada, ousted in January amid massive protests over a corruption scandal, was accused of misdeclaring his assets in 1999 when he said he was worth 35 million pesos (US$680,000).
Prosecutors alleged Estrada had more money than that but Presiding Justice Francis Garchitorena said the prosecution did not state in the charge sheet exactly how much money Estrada allegedly tried to hide.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The omission deprived Estrada of the right to know the exact allegations against him and prepare a suitable defense, Garchitorena said. He ruled that prosecutors have no right to back it up with evidence.
"It's not enough for a man to be accused of a non-truth without confronting him with what the truth was," Garchitorena said during the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court trial.
"We don't want an accused blinking in wonderment why he was going to jail," Garchitorena said.
Prosecutors vowed to appeal against the ruling, all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary.
"In effect, the decision is a dismissal of the case," said Alexander Padilla, a prosecutor. "We are very, very disappointed with the Sandiganbayan ruling. It is trying to foreclose our case even before we present it."
Reporters asked Estrada if he was happy with the ruling.
"I think so although I'm still waiting for their final acquittal," said Estrada as he was led out by police escorts back to a military hospital, where he is being detained.
Estrada's victory provided him with a glimmer of hope but he still faces an array of criminal cases, including a capital offense of economic plunder for which he has been detained without bail since April.
Plunder is defined as a series of criminal acts to amass US$1 million or more.
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