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Former President Estrada: Guilty of Plunder

Joseph Estrada is now officially the first Philippine elected President to be criminally convicted. The Sandiganbayan has declared that the former President was found guilty beyond reasonable doubt for plunder. As punishment, he was given a lifetime sentence. The court also froze the former President’s accounts, estimated to be around $87 million (that’s a lot). This closes a bitter chapter in the history of our country. There are a lot of implications here and some politicians will definitely take advantage of this situation.

Here’s a direct quote from the article posted at INQ:

Estrada son, lawyer not guilty of plunder

By Tetch Torres
Agence France-Presse, INQUIRER.net
Last updated 10:08am (Mla time) 09/12/2007

MANILA, Philippines — Former president Joseph Estrada has been found guilty beyond reasonable doubt of plunder by the Sandiganbayan and has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

At the same time, the anti-graft court ordered the freezing of Estrada’s accounts estimated at $87 million.

The funds, including protection money from illegal gambling operators, embezzled tobacco taxes, and commissions from insider trading, will be “forfeited,” the anti-graft court ruled.

But Estrada son, Senator Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, and lawyer Eduardo Serapio, were acquitted by the anti-graft court in its ruling issued Wednesday that capped a six-year trial for the former leader who was ousted in a popular revolt in 2001.

The perjury case against Estrada however was dismissed.

The court said it would allow Estrada to stay at his resthouse in Tanay, Rizal “until further orders.”

The former leader said he did not want any special treatment.

“Our client is prepared to be taken to the National Penitentiary now,” his lawyer Rene Saguisag said.

Estrada is considered the first Philippine president to have been criminally convicted.

The poll here on Waukster Online also closed today at 10:00AM. A total of 204 votes were cast and the final results are as follows: 48% Guilty, 36.3% Innocent, and 15.7% Don’t Care. If that’s the case, majority of the readers here should be satisfied with the ruling of the courts.

The question now - Is it finally over? I have a feeling that this is just the beginning. There are lot of options still open to the former President, and I believe that they already announced that they would file a motion for reconsideration. Only time will tell if we will see Erap Estrada freely walking the streets of the Philippines.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 12th, 2007 at 2:36 pm and is filed under Philippine Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. 1,068 Views

33 Responses to “Former President Estrada: Guilty of Plunder”


  1. Joseph Estrada: Wauks ala akong Gulity sa mata, ” Former President Estrada: Gulity of Plunder ”

    Joseph Estrada: Padalan nyo naman ako ng isang set ng computer with hi speed internet sa prison ko, Laro na lang ako ng Ragnarok kasi RACHEL na e.. B>ZENY for $87 million, cash ko bayaran…

    Joseph Estrada: Mang scam na lang ako sa Ragnarok.. dun ko itutuloy ang gawain ko >:)


  2. Joseph Estrada: mga kumpare pede bang i petisyon nyo na gawin na lang reality show ung pag kulong sakin, parang PBB house, lagi nyo ako panonoorin saka sana samahan ako ng 11 house representatives of senate sa loob para house mates ko sila… para for lifetime nyo na ako mapapanood sa TV, live on action mga pre.

    Joseph Estrada: i want to watch manny pacquiao, you know… he have new fights in future, and now maybe, ill going for just TV shows, i cannot go out for anymore if im got a prison. Nice! my english is good.

    Joseph Estrada: wauks nakagawa na ako ng account sa Ragnarok, intayin ko ung computer set sa prison ko ha. Eto account ko: UN: Jose Pidal, PASS: dkosasabihin. make it 2 PC sets na lang, Magbo-bot ako sa Ragnarok, and wag nyo ko BAN ha, hindi ako guilty kung mahuli nyo ako nakabot..


  3. i think the sentence was Reclusión perpetua not life imprisonment.. there’s a dif., Reclusión perpetua entails a minimum imprisonment of 30 years after which a convict becomes eligible for pardon, but the maximum period for imprisonment may not exceed 40 years. Life imprisonment, however, does not have any definite extent or duration of imprisonment.


  4. mabibigyan ng pardon ni arroyo yan after 6 months… hahaha

    magkanoooooo ~~


  5. As expected. Not because he is really guilty of plunder or not, but simply because if he’s aquitted then it will nullify GMA’s regime (to the point that ERAP can unseat GMA right away) which will put Arroyo in a very bad political situation. This is also why, Arroyo’s cabinet keep on asking Erap to accept the presidential pardon. In this way the government will have a WIN-WIN situation for them. They free Erap (capturing the hearts of Erap supporters) and still prove themselves right that the former president is still accused of plunder (which legitimates GMA’s presidency). lolz


  6. @Burke: You have a really good point there man. If Erap was acquited, yari si GMA. That would mean na illegitimate nga yung administration na to. heh


  7. Kaya nga even before, guilty na sya of plunder. June pa may decision ngayon lang ini-release. Kahit ERAP supporters alam na yun e. Try to watch the news. Actually, sinabi na yun nang isang former Sandiganbayan judge kaya lang retired na kaya he was replaced by a new judge. Nang maalis sya sa posisyon, he described it as “parang nabunutan ako ng malaking tinik.” Ang mali kc sa sandigangbayan, ngayon lang naglabas ng desisyon. Kung noon pa yan nahatulan, e di sana kung guilty man ang desisyon, e di sana maluwag na tatanggapin yun ng tao kc medyo mainit pa ang issue. Nagpalaro kc sila sa mga tactics nila Saguisag (Kaya bilib ako k former senator :p). Kaya ngayon, kahit na ano pa ang verdict, panalo ang side ni Erap. Now na guilty na sya, expect some unrests until Erap is freed, whether through coup, civil unrests, or Erap takes the Presidential Pardon na ibibigay sa kanya ni Arroyo. ABANGAN NA LANG ANG SUSUSNOD NA MGA KABANATA. Btw, clear ko lang, para sa kin nangurakot talaga si Erap just like PGMA and her cronies.


  8. Retaliation would mostly be next, from the supporters of Former President Joseph Estrada. I’m expecting more chaos to form within the couple of days.


  9. erap erap erap erap pa rin erap pa rin!!!
    GMA amfness ka!! /pif


  10. @Sou|Ca|ibuR

    Joseph Estrada: Salamat pare. Pa kiss nga.


  11. @ Noa
    of course, expected yan sa grand master plan ng supporters ni Erap. Kaya nga wala si GMA ngayon e. tapos parang magko-coup na ang daming gwardia sa palasyo. Kaya lang umulan ata kaya foiled out ung mga unrests. Mahirap mag-rally sa kalsada ng malakas ang ulan, daig mo pa ang ginamitan ng water cannon…lolz.


  12. so ano meaning nto? more rallies sa malacanang?


  13. @Burke: hehehe, naaalala ko si Guingona. Napanood ko siya sa TV na tinitira ng WATER CANNON XD @Deric: Hmm, based sa turn-out ng Erap supporters kanina sa Sandiganbayan, I don’t think ganun katindi yung retaliation.

  		14.
    Political Horsesith
    September 12th, 2007 at 4:50 pm

    LOL. It’s a big threat to the current president if ever Erap was acquitted. Yari siya kina Ping, and iba pa niyang mga kaibigan na nasa senate na.


  15. nagkataon lang na si erap ay nahuli.. at ang iba ay hindi. /…


  16. @Waukeen: What’s your personal opinion on this matter, as a member belonging to a family of Politicians XD


  17. “so ano meaning nto? more rallies sa malacanang?”

    IMO, 2 factions ang nabubuo ngayon. Ang mga pro-Erap at Anti-ERAP/Anti-PGMA. In the end, isa lang ang hihingin ng 2 factions na `to ang ibaba si Tita Glo. So whether through rallies or rebellions, just like what I’ve said abangan na lang natin ang susunod na mga kabanata. Pero for sure, lolobo na naman ang pondo ng AFP para makaiwas si Gloria sa coup.


  18. If Erap was acquited, inde GAANO si GMA. Illegitimate yung administration nya BEFORE. there was an election 2004 yah know @_@


  19. If Erap was acquited, inde GAANO in trouble si GMA. its safe to say, illegitimate yung administration nya BEFORE that succeeded erap b4. there was an election 2004 after all of that yah know @_@ so she was duly elected by people as president.


  20. I wonder if meron DAYAAN sa RWC WildCards and RPC WildCards.. Its very clear the guild *toot* sucks when it comes to Agit Lords..


  21. no choice na matino ang mga candidates ng presidency noon.. kahit sinu boto mo parang ganun din…

    Latest News: ASAHAN BUKAS, MUKA NI ERAP ANG TATAMBAD SA PAGGISING MO - MUKA NI ERAP SA MGA PAHAYAGAN… MA IINLOVE KA NA KAY ERAP.


  22. @sir wauks
    sabi nyo po magbibigay kayo ng opinion about the erap case. gusto namin marinig ang inyong opinion :D


  23. @joel

    hehe iba po fafs ang wildcard sa agitlords =))
    agitlords palakasan…

    wildcard payamanan =)) wahehehehe… /no1


  24. LACSON-LEGARDA on 2010!!!


  25. it really doesn’t matter if his sentenced for life imprisonment or for 30 yrs..

    i don’t think he’ll live that long..

    he’s already old and his health is not going well, i bet he’d not exceed ten years in prison..


  26. @ joel anu yang mga accusations mo!? gagu kaba? walang dayaan sa RWC at RPC wildcard.. tarantado ka pla eh “pa-i wonder, i wonder kpa dyan, off topic knaman d2 sa topic ni wauks.. cnu ba tinutukoy mo na guild that sucks sa agit lord? cnu ba? panindigan mo nga..


  27. @ joel http://www.joelsarmy.tk/ gagu ka pla AnL ka pla, kapal ng mukha mo accuse kpa dyan, AnL ka pla.. tadew ka pla 2 EC-gms new sa iisang guild!? gagu ba u?look who;s talkin! pak q, sencya sa post fafa wauks, nkakairita tlaga..

    @ on topic, its a gud thing na-sentenced yang c erap.. mga justice judge naghatol nyan, inde c gloria, mga abogado yan, mga matatalino, intindihin nyo ung BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT, kaya w/evidence and inde cla nag2nd tot na mey ill gotten wealth c erap,

    tsaka kung napapansin nyo ung ibang politiko as if pasabi2x pa dyan na sana inde guilty binigay at pinalaya c erap, mga balimbing mga taong un, check nyo personalities, palipat2x ng kampi..hehe


  28. I was wondering about this, what makes GMA admin now illegitimate?Like AnC said, she was already elected by the people in a new election (IMO, both parties did a cheating dat time, FPJ or GMA) so technically Erap admin had already ended if ndi na was charge with this case, tama?But if you look @ the bigger picture, we dont get anything from this even if Erap was acquited. It just benefits them and there wouldnt be any benefits from us, tataas nman ang peso exchange and in effect tataas nman prices then it will stay that way for a long time. Tama na nga yun mga ganon rally, parang excuse nlng yan ei, kakasawa na panoorin. Let GMA regime finish nlng. Taas kasi ng mga ego mga yan ei, they cant work together tsk tsk tsk


  29. lets jaz say na…in dis country there is no justice..asan ang justice dun??is he really guilty??PGMA is scared..if former president erap is aquited yari xa…


  30. Erap was convicted based on two (2) acts: (1) collection of gambling payoffs of more than 500m php and receipt of commission of more than 189m php for stock purchases.

    the rest ng kaso hindi napatunayan and to quote:”Prosecutors were not as successful in their other charges — that Estrada pocketed P130 million in kickbacks from the tobacco excise tax meant for Ilocos Sur province and he “unjustly enriched himself from commissions, gifts, kickbacks” that found their way into the infamous “Jose Velarde” account at the Equitable-PCI Bank.”

    according to Erap’s lawyer, the sandiganbayan failed to recognize this: “the court failed to consider were the fact that it was former Ilocos Sur Rep. Luis “Chavit” Singson who collected kickbacks from the illegal numbers game “jueteng” and that it was businessman Jaime Dichaves who received the P189-million commission from the sale of the Belle Corporation shares.

    “There was no evidence that Estrada knew that Dichaves got the shares from Belle. There was also no evidence that Estrada claimed the check from Belle,” he said.”

    to convict a person, ang requirement e dapat BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT. with the above quotes i dont think that was established.

    PS.

    me compensation daw po ako na 150m zeny hanggang ngaun wala pa sir wauks follow up naman po! ty


  31. dpt sama nila c chavit sa kulungan amp un e kaya lng nkakalaya ngyn un kc ngtraydor sya ky erap amfufu.. pero isa dn un sa mga kriminal..


  32. ^^ yep i agree, malamang mey share rin un dati..nagmukha kcng bida or super hero cya sa public or media kc cya nagbuking ng controversy abwt key erap @_@


  33. pvp n lng yan GMA vs ERAP!!!!
    erap says B>2vital falchion(agi daw cia)
    GMA says B>high heels ( pra may laban xia kay erap! khit sa patangkadan man lng d sa palaparan!)

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