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Today's item is from The Philippine Letter, Asia Letter Publishers
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The Senate impeachment trial of President Joseph Estrada has started.
And whether it will last for one month, as the senate president expects,
or more than one year, as the defense lawyers contend, is anybody’s
guess. Contrary to President Estrada’s repeated claims that he wants the trial to proceed as fast as possible in order to give him the opportunity to clear himself, his lawyers former chief justice of the Supreme Court Andres Narvasa, former solicitor-general and justice secretary Estelito Mendoza, and former House deputy speaker Raul Daza seem to be ready to use every trick in the book to delay the proceedings. They filed a motion to dismiss the complaints on the ground that the articles of impeachment from the House of Representatives were "fatally flawed". Chief Justice Hilario Davide, who is presiding over the impeachment trial, however, denied the motion. Next, they insisted that the rules of court be used during the trial. If they succeed, it means Estrada can only be convicted if his guilt can be proven beyond reasonable doubt a more difficult and time-consuming process. The prosecutors, on the other hand, contend that impeachment is not criminal trial but a political exercise, and conviction should be based on preponderance of evidence. Debate on this matter is still going on, but the prosecutors have the edge. At any rate, Estrada entered a plea of not guilty to all the charges. But he did not answer point by point the charges of bribery, graft and corrupt practices, betrayal of public trust, and culpable violation of the Constitution. He merely issued a blanket denial. Several business, student and labor organizations vow to monitor closely the proceedings. But most people appear skeptical that the president will be convicted of the charges against him, no matter how overwhelming the evidence is. And their doubts have been reinforced since it was revealed that unknown parties altered the official transcript of the first-day proceedings to favor the motion of the Estrada lawyers. An investigation is underway to find who the culprits are. A verdict of guilty removing Estrada from office will not immediately turn the ailing economy around. But an acquittal may not only result in a prolonged economic crisis but also provoke social unrest. Copyright (c) 2000 Asia Letter Publishers. All rights reserved.
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© Asian Business Strategy & Street Intelligence Ezine 2000
The views expressed here may not necessarily reflect those of partners, publishers, editorial board nor sponsors of the Asia Pacific Management Forum
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