Key witness against Estrada flees Philippines

Yasay said he started receiving “terrifying” death-threats, early this year, after he publicly accused Estrada of attempting to intervene in a SEC investigation on an insider trading case involving a close friend of the President.

The accusations almost caused the collapse of the stock market in March and later formed one of the bases for Estrada’s impeachment by the House of Representatives in November. Estrada, the first Asian leader to be impeached, has pleaded not guilty to charges of bribery, graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust and violations of the Constitution. He would be removed from office before the end of his six-year term in 2004 if two-thirds of the 22-member Senate find him guilty in any of the four articles of impeachment. A verdict is not expected until the end of January 2001.

The prosecution disclosed, last week, that other witnesses against the President have also been receiving threats. On the fifth day of the trial on Wednesday, the prosecution’s star witness, provincial Governor Luis Singson, was expected to testify. Singson, a former friend of Estrada, had accused the President of collecting more than $8 million in bribes from operators of an illegal numbers game called `Jueteng’ and pocketing $2.6 million in kickbacks from tobacco taxes. He said he would make “fresh” revelations against Estrada, a 63-year-old former movie action star. “It would reinforce my previous allegations that Estrada is taking protection money from Jueteng,” he told a radio station, but declined to give details. “If I tell you now, I would be exploding the bomb prematurely.” Press Undersecretary Mike Toledo said the President had not cancelled any of his appointments for the day to watch Singson on the witness stand, like he did on December 7 to monitor the first day of the trial.

“As we said before, the President will continue to perform his duties,” he said. "The President is very much on top of the situation.” On Tuesday, one of the country’s largest banks turned over records of an account suspected to be secretly owned by the President.

The prosecution said the Equitable PCI Bank account was vital to allegations that Estrada amassed unexplained wealth in office. “The President would be convicted on bank records,” said Congressman Joker Arroyo, one of the 11 prosecutors. While the trial is not expected to be completed until next year, police and military officials said on Tuesday they were already preparing plans to tighten security at the Senate during the promulgation day to avoid chaos and lawlessness.

“Whatever is the result, we expect resistance and definitely they will go to the streets,” said Philippine National Police spokesman Senior Superintendent Nicanor Bartolome. “Even the military will be obliged to do something if there is lawlessness and violence.”