Focus shifts on Estrada's aide

Focus shifts on Estrada's aide

MANILA (AFP): Philippine President Joseph Estrada's alleged
custodian for illegal gambling bribes deposited shopping bags
filled with millions of pesos at several banks, according to bank
officials who testified on Thursday at the leader's corruption
trial.

They said the woman, identified as Yolanda Ricaforte, opened
more than two dozen accounts in five branches of Equitable PCI
Bank over the past 13 months.

The depositor variously described herself as a supplier of
building materials, a real estate agent, travel agent, and
exporter of fishery products, the witnesses said.

Ricaforte looked like a "very simple woman" who would walk
into a suburban Manila bank carrying a "plastic bag" filled with
"old, big bills, in the thousands and hundreds," branch manager
Rosario Bautista told a Senate tribunal which is hearing
corruption and other charges against Estrada.

Another manager, Edgardo Alcaraz, said Ricaforte walked into a
suburban Manila branch in March with "four million pesos
($80,000) in cash" and sought out the branch manager to open
several accounts.

Prosecutors allege Ricaforte's deposits were proceeds from a
national protection racket for illegal lotteries called jueteng.

They say the racket was organized by the president and the
proceeds were collected by his estranged friend, provincial
Governor Luis Singson, the principal prosecution witness in the
corruption trial.

Estrada has been impeached by the House of Representatives on
corruption and other charges and if convicted by the Senate, will
have to give up power.

The five managers who took the stand on Thursday said some of
the checks Ricaforte deposited were drawn from the accounts of
two Estrada friends, William Gatchalian and Singson.

"Because of the substantial amounts involved she was
considered as one of my top depositors. As an individual she was
the largest depositor," Bautista said.

The five bank officials said the depositor later withdrew most
of the funds over a three-day period in April, purchasing five
manager's checks totaling 109 million pesos ($2.18 million).

Singson testified last week that Ricaforte laundered about 200
million pesos in jueteng collections, and transferred them into
the bank account of a presidential charity in April.