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Philippines: Witness Says Estrada Controls Gambling Empire
by Kazi Mahmood for IslamOnline
JAKARTA (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – A star witness at the impeachment trial of Philippines President Joseph Estrada alleged the leader was at the center of the gambling empire in the country.
Luis Singson, governor of the northern Ilocos Sur province, claims that Estrada earned millions of pesos and organized illegal lotteries not long after being elected president in 1998.
The allegations by Singson were scrutinized by senators who said they found loopholes and inaccuracies in the ledger brought by the governor to the trial in support of his testimony.
The governor ended his testimony on Friday and will now be cross-examined by the tribunal.
At the Senate tribunal hearing corruption and other charges against the President, the Governor laid bare before the impeachment court a startling trail of money in scandalous amounts flowing regularly to Estrada's pockets.
Yet analysts in Manila said they have reasons to believe Estrada will not be impeached.
They added that the trial was a necessity proving the good faith of the senate, and showing that Estrada was ready to be queried at the highest level.
Pro-Estrada supporters said they believed Singson’s testimony did not destroy the president, as it never proved Estrada collected the money himself.
Instead, Singson agreed it was Estrada’s aides, including one American citizen working for Estrada as an adviser, who collected checks or cash from him.
Estrada has denied that he had any knowledge of the deliveries made by Singson, though he said yesterday that he acknowledges the American adviser received money from Singson.
Singson was the eighth witness called by the prosecution panel to the stand as the impeachment trial entered the fifth day in the tightly guarded courtroom.
The former buddy of the President has accused Estrada of pocketing a total of 544 million pesos (approximately $10.5 million) in “jueteng”, or illegal lottery payoffs, and tobacco tax kickbacks, which formed the basis of the four articles of impeachment pending against him.
The allegation triggered a political crisis and the resignations of key allies from the President's political party. Vice president Gloria Aroyo resigned from the cabinet and has since been campaigning for Estrada’s resignation.
The House of Representatives impeached Estrada last month for alleged bribery, corruption, and culpable violation of the Constitution, and betrayal of public trust.
A series of rallies has stormed the Philippines with pro- and anti-Estrada supporters going to streets to show their concern over the allegations against the embattled President.
Building his case against his old drinking buddy, Singson produced cashed checks to bolster his allegations that illegal money passed through the President's hands.
He produced a cashed Metrobank check amounting to $100,000 dated Feb 1, 1999, that he personally delivered to Estrada, he said.
The check was later deposited to a still unidentified bank account in Security Bank, controlled by an Estrada crony. The account is due to be investigated by prosecutors and could prove fatal to Estrada if proved true.
The prosecution panel also produced the controversial “ledger” that lists names of government officials, including that of Estrada's codename, his two sons and close aides, who benefited from the illegal gambling money.
The President's codename in the ledger was listed as AS, or Asiong Salonga, the title of a 1961 film that catapulted the young actor to stardom.
The two ledgers detailed huge “jueteng” collections from different provinces.
Singson said he was “personally appointed” by the President to take overall command of jueteng collection in October 1998 after Estrada “quarreled” with another friend, Charlie “Atong” Ang, over allocation for sugar importation.
According to Singson, Estrada's two sons, San Juan Mayor Jinggoy Estrada and Jude, also benefited from jueteng earnings.
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