Subscribe to one of our news e-mail lists . Former Philippine president Joseph Estrada will not resist arrest if served a warrant on a charge of economic plunder, which carries the death penalty, his lawyer has said.
Economic plunder is a non-bailable offence which carries the penalty of life imprisonment to death.
No one has ever been convicted of the offence. It is not known when the court would decide if there was adequate evidence to prosecute Estrada and order his arrest. Clear conscience Estrada, a former movie actor, has denied any wrong-doing, saying his conscience was clear and he has vowed to fight any charges in court. Estrada was forced from power in January at the peak of a popular revolt in which hundreds of thousands of people poured onto the streets of Manila demanding his resignation. Although economic plunder is a non-bailable offence, Estrada's lawyers have said they will petition the court to allow him provisional liberty, citing laws which, they contend, allow a person charged with a capital offence to post bail if the evidence against him is not strong.