Estrada postulates that he is above the law

Estrada postulates that he is above the law

MANILA: Deposed President Joseph Estrada the other day refused to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty during his arraignment on charges of plunder before the Sandiganbayan court. Two weeks ago, he spurned entering a plea on charges of perjury. The Sandiganbayan justices nonetheless entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf to get the trial moving.

Lawyers of Estrada never explicitly stated the reasons for this legal tactic which, in effect, implies that Estrada does not recognize the jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan over the cases filed by the Ombudsman against him, his son Jinggoy Estrada, and Edgardo Serapio, Estrada's lawyer in the Erap Muslim Scholarship Foundation. The foundation was described in the impeachment trial of Estrada as a "shell" organization.

Legal authorities have interpreted Estrada's refusal to enter a plea as a message that he does not recognize not only the jurisdiction of the court but also the legitimacy of the country's judicial process. If this is correct, then Estrada and his co-accused have postulated a dangerous doctrine that they are above the law and beyond the pale of the judicial system.

Without getting an explanation from Estrada's lawyers, we can only infer that the refusal to enter a plea in the plunder case is based on their argument that the law on plunder is unconstitutional because it is flawed with the "vice of vagueness."

Thus, the argument seems to say, until the Supreme Court rules on the issue of the constitutionality of the plunder law, Estrada and his co-accused can ignore the court.

Whether or not the law is shrouded with vagueness is a matter which only the courts can decide. But it is putting the cart before the horse if Estrada does not submit himself to the court's jurisdiction until a ruling on the issue is handed down by the Supreme Court.

First, a legal challenge has to be filed with the Supreme Court questioning the constitutionality of the plunder law. Pending a decision, no one has the right to delay the trial.

The arraignment is a judicial landmark in a case that has already set many precedents. This is the first time a president of the republic has been put on trial for offenses arising from his exercise of presidential powers. This is the first time that a president has been arrested and held in detention while he stands trial. And this is also the first time that a president has been impeached.

We are traversing unexplored legal territory in the Estrada cases, and, as we have seen, Estrada and his lawyers are putting up obstacles every inch of the way to block a speedy trial. On the basis of the endless ancillary motions filed by his lawyers, we can foresee a protracted litigation that may well go beyond the life of the Macapagal administration. It is obvious a speedy trial is not a priority of Estrada and his lawyers.

Many times, since the Senate blue ribbon committee started hearings on the jueteng payoff charges all the way to the impeachment trial, Estrada has asserted he would answer the charges at the proper venue. Well, the impeachment tribunal was one such venue and so is the Sandiganbayan. But each time, he has found a reason not to answer the allegations leveled against him.

At the court on Tuesday, Estrada emphatically said that he was not Jose Velarde or Asiong Salonga. This reference to the alias he used in opening a bank account with Equitable PCI Bank is a signal that he will challenge any evidence linking him to that account.

The scorn heaped by Estrada on the courts reflects his lack of respect for institutions. In his rise to power, he has never thought much about the importance of institutions, such as political parties or even the judicial system.

If he fell back on the impeachment as a constitutional process, he did so only because he thought he could use it as a shield to keep his legitimacy and to survive politically. He thought that his popularity with the masses gave him a mandate to ignore institutions. It is not surprising therefore that he does not recognize the Sandiganbayan's jurisdiction over the case filed against him.

-- Philippine Daily Inquirer/Asia News Network