'Black propaganda' in Estrada trial, claims judge

'Black propaganda' in Estrada trial, claims judge

MANILA (Reuters): A judge in Philippine President Joseph Estrada's impeachment trial admitted on Wednesday he made money on a stock at the center of a price-fixing scandal but accused Estrada of "black propaganda" to besmirch his name.

Opposition Senator Rene Cayetano, one of 22 members of the Senate conducting the trial, was responding to a radio interview in which he was accused of illegally making money from share holdings in gaming firm BW Resource Corp.

"President Estrada...I know he is the one behind this black propaganda against me," Cayetano told the court when the trial resumed hours after the broadcast.

"There is nothing irregular about my BW shares...the fact that I made money is part of it. They are digging up this matter again. But I will not be silenced. I will continue to perform my duty as God's public servant and that of my people."

Dante Tan, the majority BW shareholder facing trial on charges of insider trading over the meteoric rise and fall of the share in 1999, said in the radio interview that he sold Cayetano four million shares and the senator made 70 million pesos ($1.4 million) when he later disposed of the holdings.

Tan is a close friend of Estrada and the impeachment prosecution has accused the president of trying to shield him.

Estrada is being tried for corruption, bribery, betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the constitution. If convicted by a two-third majority of the Senate on any one charge, he will be removed from office. Estrada has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

"I bought three million shares not four, and made much less than the amount Mr Tan reported," Cayetano said. He did not say how much he had made and admitted that he had bought the shares from Tan.

"If I was part of the insider trading activity of Mr Tan, I would be richer now by 300 million. If Mr Tan can prove this, I will resign from the senate, as much as I hope the president will resign from the presidency if the (impeachment) case will be proved against him," Cayetano added.

The impeachment trial focused on the BW share scandal following testimony on Tuesday from a former stock exchange investigator that Estrada knew Tan had tried to bribe the country's top securities regulator.

Ruben Almadro, former head of the exchange's compliance group, told the court that Estrada had indicated to him that Tan had bribed Perfecto Yasay, the former chief of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Almadro said that after being told of Tan's alleged role in price fixing, Estrada said: "Dante told me that he had fixed Yasay." Then Estrada made a gesture indicating that money had been paid, he said.

Estrada, speaking to reporters, dismissed the testimony and said it was only hearsay.

Almadro said he resigned from the stock exchange last year because the bourse did not back his investigations into BW.

Yasay, speaking in a radio interview, said there were attempts to bribe him but he had not taken any money.

Tan, who was also interviewed on the radio, denied he had bribed anyone and said he was not guilty of manipulating BW's prices. BW has since been renamed Fairmont Holdings.

Returning to the stand, Almadro said that during his meeting with Estrada the president tried to defend Tan by portraying him as a victim who lost money on BW rather than a manipulator.

Asked if Estrada ordered him to alter the result of his investigation finding evidence Almadro said "No, he did not." He also said "No" when asked if he had evidence that Estrada benefited from BW's sensational rise and fall.

Almadro said he did not investigate Senator Cayetano's transactions on BW because there was no indication any anomaly attended those deals.

Top prelate Cardinal Jaime Sin, who has led a campaign for Estrada to resign, urged the senators not to be swayed by money in voting on whether the president was guilty or not.

"Do not gag the truth in exchange for money or political gain," Sin said in a statement, referring to local media reports that senators were being approached to acquit Estrada.

"The Lord will demand from you an accounting of the judgment you render," Sin said.