RP warns neighbors against giving aylum to Estrada

RP warns neighbors against giving aylum to Estrada

MANILA (Agencies): Vice President Teofisto Guingona on Thursday warned neighbors and other countries against giving sanctuary to the Philippines' ousted leader Joseph Estrada, who faces possible arrest for alleged massive corruption.

Guingona said that "if we have friendly ties, their acceptance (of Estrada's asylum request) will be interpreted as an unfriendly act."

Press reports said that Estrada, ousted in a popular revolt on Jan. 20, had had a request for asylum through the Thai ambassador to Manila turned down.

The reports said he had made similar pleas to Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the United States.

The Nation newspaper of Bangkok on Thursday quoted an unidentified government source as saying that Estrada had applied for political asylum in Thailand last week but was rejected.

"The answer we gave was an absolute no," the government source said, adding that Estrada made the alleged request by phoning the Thai ambassador to the Philippines.

Thai's new government was too busy coping with clashes along the Myanmar border and the bombing of a Thai Airways jet due to take off with Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on board to even consider accepting him, the official said.

If it granted asylum to Estrada, Thailand would risk criticism from other countries within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Thailand and the Philippines are founding members, he said.

ASEAN strongly discourages its constituents from meddling in the domestic affairs of other member states.

His family as well as the five countries mentioned in the report all denied having been approached.

"It's up to the host country. They must realize the consequences. If they are our friend, they should not give shelter to the person who is being prosecuted according to the rules of the Philippines," said Guingona.

Estrada's spokesman denied seeking political asylum from any foreign government.

"That's absurd. The President (Estrada) has not contacted any foreign governments for that," Ramon Cardenas, a spokesman and former Presidential Management Staff chief of Estrada, told Reuters.

Estrada's son Jose Ejercito also denied his father is seeking asylum abroad. "We did not make any request for political asylum in any country," Ejercito said on local television. "He has always said he was born here and he will die here," he added.

U.S. embassy spokesman Thomas Skipper said: "There has been no request and the U.S. has made no offer for former president Estrada to go the United States."

In Kuala Lumpur, Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai told reporters after talks with his Malaysian counterpart, Syed Hamid Albar, "there hasn't been any formal request from the Philippines."

"If there were any request, it will be to my surprise because from what we have been informed, the Philippines doesn't like the former president to leave the country and if the request has been lodged to us for asylum, it seems to be in contradiction," he added.

Spokesmen for the Brunei and Indonesian missions in Manila also said they were unaware of any asylum request.

President Gloria Arroyo wants to put Estrada on trial for embezzlement, extortion, bribery and other criminal acts that allegedly allowed him to amass a 400-million dollar fortune while in office for only 30 months.

Arroyo has banned him from leaving the country, but the Supreme Court has stopped the government from filing charges against him before March 22, when its earlier ruling that he had lost presidential immunity would take effect.

Meanwhile, the presiding judge of a graft court which would handle any corruption cases to be filed against Estrada told reporters on Thursday that he could not expect special treatment from the court if indicted.

When the court issues an arrest warrant "we usually refer the accused to the nearest jail," justice Francis Garchitorena said, referring to an overcrowded city jail in the northern Manila district of Quezon city. He denied that the court would give Estrada a jail cell for his own.