01/30/2001 - Updated 01:58 AM ET

I hope our weak politicians can learn a lesson from their counterparts in
other parts of the world.

MJohnson


Prosecutors claim Estrada hid millions of dollars

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Prosecutors claimed Tuesday that former President
Joseph Estrada began making large bank deposits under aliases two months
after taking office and had stashed away hundreds of millions of dollars by
the time he was forced out.

They said they had put together a paper trail that would prove the
allegations and would release details of their investigation by early next
week. Estrada, who fled the presidential palace on Jan. 20 amid massive
street protests, has denied the allegations of corruption against him.

Eduardo de los Angeles, leader of a group of prosecutors in the government
ombudsman's office investigating his alleged corruption, said evidence shows
Estrada had 15 accounts in 15 banks — nearly every one operating in the
Philippines — under six aliases.

Officials so far have found a total of $200 million to $300 million of
unexplained wealth in the accounts, he said.

That does not include dollar-denominated accounts linked to Estrada and
mansions or accounts in the names of his acknowledged mistresses, de los
Angeles said.

One of those mistresses, Laarni Enriquez, had $12 million in one account, he
said.

The money came "from bribes and kickbacks and some other sources we still
don't know about," de los Angeles said. "You can see the president using
fictitious names and banks to launder money."

Eduardo Nepomuceno, head of prosecutions at the ombudsman's office, said the
evidence includes applications for checks, bank accounts and deeds of sale
for mansions.

He said some of the witnesses are still hesitant and fearful but some are
very cooperative.

De los Angeles said businessman Mark Jimenez, a close friend of Estrada who
helped broker major privatization deals and mergers involving state
companies, was given at least $100 million in commissions. De los Angeles
said Jimenez passed much of the money on to Estrada.

Jimenez, wanted on criminal charges in the United States, started making a
statement Monday alleging links between Estrada and a stock price
manipulation scandal that devastated Manila's stock markets in 1999, as well
as other alleged crimes, Justice Secretary Hernando Perez said.

"President Estrada will collapse over what we have," Perez told The
Associated Press.

The testimony would not affect the extradition request of the United States,
which wants Jimenez on charges of illegal campaign contributions and fraud,
among others.

Jimenez belonged to Estrada's innermost circle of friends and was said to be
a member of the ousted ruler's "midnight cabinet" — a group of close
associates who joined Estrada in late-night drinking sessions in the
Malacanang presidential palace and other places.

Estrada took office in June 1998 and deposited hundreds of thousands of
dollars at Equitable Bank the following August, de los Angeles said.

The former film actor declared only a net worth of $700,000 in 1999. Last
October, a provincial governor who was a drinking and gambling buddy of
Estrada claimed the president had made a fortune in bribes and kickbacks.

That sparked the country's first-ever impeachment trial, which was suspended
two weeks ago after prosecutors walked out, claiming an adverse ruling by
the senators who were acting as judges proved that a fair verdict was
impossible.

Mass street protests began within hours, swelling daily until Estrada packed
up and left the presidential palace on Jan. 20, a day after top military
officials and most of his Cabinet abandoned him.

Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who had led the opposition, was
sworn in to replace him. But Estrada has claimed he only turned over power
temporarily.

Since then, the impeachment proceedings have been turned into a criminal
investigation and Estrada has been barred from leaving the country.


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