Estrada to appeal guilty verdict before Sandiganbayan on Wednesday

By Ronron
September 25, 2007

Convicted former Philippine President Joseph Estrada will file today (Wednesday) a motion for reconsideration (MR) before the Sandiganbayan for the guilty verdict it handed against him last September 12, a government official said Tuesday.

According to Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Ronald Puno, the move is was relayed to him personally by Estrada during their meeting yesterday noon at the former leader’s Tanay Resthouse in Rizal province.

“His welcome words for me were, Ronnie, we will file tomorrow an MR before the Sandiganbayan… I said, it’s okay because for us, we will just await until all the legal processes are completed and the legal remedies available for them are already looked into,” Puno told a news conference yesterday afternoon at Camp Crame after arriving from Tanay.

Puno said he met with Estrada to discuss possible granting of pardon on him by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo consistent with her policy for national reconciliation and policy.

Puno said that if he had his way, Estrada should not just have filed the MR so that the process for getting pardon will already start. “For me, that would have been quicker. But of course, they have their own issues and that is refusal to accept the verdict of guilty. He wants to specifically state the reasons why he believes that the decision was not correct and needs to be reconsidered,” Puno said.

Under the law, any convicted person can only avail of executive clemency if the decision against him is final and executory already. He or she must also apply for that to the President.

When asked if Estrada would personally submit a letter to Arroyo, Puno replied: “I doubt.”

But Puno said they will continue negotiating with Estrada even if the appeal reaches the Supreme Court because it is the intention of the President to foster national unity.

“I told him that the message of President Arroyo is we just want to find a solution to heal the wounds so that we can go past the difficult situation we are in now and we can unite the people,” Puno said.

Puno said he will discuss further the matter with the Department of Justice in the coming days, and then to Estrada’s lawyers before he submits a report to Arroyo.

Despite the uncertainties, Puno said he is confident that the issue will be ironed out, particularly in favor of the government’s wish, in the end./DMS