Now after being driven out of office by People Power II mainly because of plunder and other corrupt practices, Estrada has not changed his standard response. Anything damning found or said about him or his family can only be a lie, he insists. In the latest episode where Estrada pits his credibility against that of others, the stakes couldn t be any higher. He is trying to wiggle out of a very sticky situation that could cost him not only his freedom but even his life. Once the Supreme Court lifts its temporary restraining order, the Office of the Ombudsman will file a case charging Estrada with plunder for accepting P189.7 million in kickbacks from the purchase of Belle Corp. shares by the Government Service Insurance System and the Social Security System.
Plunder is classified as a heinous crime punishable with death.
In sworn statements, former GSIS President Federico Pascual and former SSS President Carlos Arellano detailed how they were pressured by Estrada to buy some 592 million Belle shares worth P1.84 billion in 1998. Willy Ocier, Belle vice chair, also testified that he issued a check for P189.7 million and handed it to Jaime Dichaves, who in turn delivered it to then President Estrada. The check was traced to the account of Jose Velarde in Equitable PCI Bank, which actually belonged to Estrada, according to bank officials. The Belle bribery case is the eighth plunder case being prepared by the government against Estrada. But it looks like the most solid and strongest case so far, given the kind of witnesses the state has and the details they were able to supply.