Deposed Philippine leader Joseph Estrada is claiming he is still president to save himself from the death penalty if convicted in court of corruption and economic plunder, Justice Secretary Hernando Perez said Thursday.
Estrada apparently hopes that by publicly claiming to be president, he will be protected by presidential immunity, he said.
Officials also dismissed Estrada's claim that he was just on leave and that his successor, Gloria Arroyo, was only serving temporarily after she was installed as the country's 14th president following a military-backed popular uprising two weeks ago.
"This is just an afterthought. When he left (power), they told him that since he is not president, he can be charged in court. This would mean (the charge of) plunder and you get the death penalty for this," Perez said.
"That was when he got worried. Then he said 'I am just on leave.' But you can't do that. Once you give up power, you can't take it back."
Arroyo's chief of staff, Renato Corona said she believes "we should not pay attention to this issue" and stressed that the public, the legislature, the military and the international community had all recognized her as the president.
Corona said it appears that claiming the presidency was among Estrada's "strategies of defense" against criminal suits for alleged corruption committed during his two and a half years in power.
"I don't know ... if he is laughable or pitiful," Corona remarked.
Perez said Estrada's hope of regaining the presidency was "a lost cause" and challenged him to file a case in court contesting Arroyo's legitimacy.
Meanwhile, government officials continued their search for more witnesses to testify against Estrada, including possibly one of his mistresses.
Perez said an alleged Estrada mistress had sent an emissary and offered to testify. But the justice secretary stressed he would have to check if she had anything valuable to reveal. He refused to identify the woman.
Estrada, a former top movie star, had openly admitted having at least three mistresses, all of them having starred opposite him in his films. It is widely reported that he has other women apart from those he has acknowledged.
Estrada's corruption trial at the Senate collapsed early this month when his allies in the chamber voted to suppress potentially damning evidence, igniting massive street protests that culminated in his overthrow.
In the trial, from December to January, Estrada was accused of using ill-gotten gains to build luxurious mansions for his mistresses.
Estrada emerged from 11 days of seclusion on Wednesday to insist that since he did not formally resign he is still president, and that he and his party will challenge the legitimacy of the Arroyo government.
Perez brushed this aside. "It is clear he left his duties. There was abandonment of work. There was an implied resignation." -- MANILA (AFP)
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