The Philippine anti-graft court, the Sandiganbayan, will soon freeze the bank accounts of former President Joseph Estrada, who was pardoned two weeks ago for plunder, a court official said Tuesday.
"Through the notice of garnishment, we inform the bank to freeze the account. No one is touching the account without authority from the sheriff," Sandiganbayan sheriff Urieta told Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Estrada was convicted of plunder and sentenced to life imprisonment in September after a six-year marathon trial, but he was granted clemency last month by his successor President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in a view to reconciliation and national reunification.
However, the pardon does not extend to the anti-graft court's forfeiture orders, which were handed out in a bid to recover over 735 million pesos (17 million U.S. dollars) in Estrada's bank deposits.
In an on-line report, the Daily Inquirer quoted Urieta as saying that if the money from these accounts was not enough, Estrada would have to raise the money from his personal or real properties.
The sheriff said they were also checking on the vehicles owned by Estrada to see whether they were under the former president's name so that they could also be forfeited in favor of the court.
Estrada's lawyers have filed a motion to block the seizure of assets, contending that the former leader's properties were gained before his presidency starting from 1998.
The 70-year-old Estrada was once a popular actor. He entered politics in late 1960s and was elected president of the Philippines in 1998, the top post he stayed on for merely three years before being ousted by a popular revolt triggered by a series of corruption scandals.
Source: Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article