Republic of the PhilippinesHOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

TWELFTH CONGRESSSecond Regular Session

HOUSE RESOLUTION No. 925_____________________________________________________________________________________

Introduced by Reps. SATUR C. OCAMPO, CRISPIN B. BELTRAN, LIZA L. MAZA,FLORENCIO B. ABAD, OSCAR S. RODRIGUEZ, KRISEL LAGMAN-LUISTRO, NERISSA SOON-RUIZ,

ARTHUR D. DEFENSOR, DOUGLAS R.A. CAGAS, ROSELLER L. BARINAGA,LORETTA ANN P. ROSALES, ROY S. PILANDO, EXEQUIEL B. JAVIER, ANTONIO V. CUENCO,

ERNIE D. CLARETE, LAURENCE B. WACNANG, MANUEL N. MAMBA, BERTHOBAL R. ANCHETA, LEOVIGILDO B. BANAAG

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RESOLUTIONEXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES THAT OUSTED FORMER PRESIDENT

JOSEPH ESTRADA MUST NOT BE GRANTED HOUSE ARREST OR ANY KIND OF REPRIEVE, INCLUDING A CHRISTMAS FURLOUGH, IN ORDER TO ENSURE THE FULL ENFORCEMENT OF THE RULE OF LAW AND THE

EXPEDITIOUS AND JUST RESOLUTION OF HIS PLUNDER TRIAL IN THE SANDIGANBAYAN

WHEREAS President Joseph Estrada was ousted from power on January 20, 2001 following a popular uprising and is now detained together with his son Jinggoy in accordance with legal processes while undergoing trial for the capital and non-bailable crime of plunder as well as two counts of perjury and illegal use of an alias, all backed by the weight of considerable evidence;

WHEREAS it is only the Sandiganbayan, an independent judicial body, which has the authority to decide the Estrada case and the course of justice and the rule of law must be allowed to proceed with the utmost dispatch and determination;

WHEREAS a resolution was filed and immediately approved by voice vote last Wednesday, December 11, 2002 in the House asking that the deposed President be given a Christmas furlough while another resolution has been lodged in the Senate seeking his house arrest for the duration of his trial in the spirit of national unity and reconciliation;

WHEREAS the Sandiganbayan has already denied earlier petitions to move the Estradas from the Veterans Memorial Medical Center and put them on house arrest at the family mansion in Greenhills, San Juan and has yet to resolve a standing petition for reconsideration;

WHEREAS the independence of the courts and the judicial prerogative must be respected in accordance with the constitutional principle of separation of powers;

WHEREAS placing disgraced President Estrada under house arrest would dangerously trivialize the crime of plunder and violate the equal protection clause of the Constitution which seeks to avoid undue favoritism, discrimination and double standards in the enforcement of the law;

WHEREAS the Office of the Ombudsman, the government’s lead prosecutor in the Estrada plunder trial, has stressed that house arrest is not applicable to persons accused of a non-bailable capital offense as in the case of the ousted President and that political factors like national reconciliation should not be considered by the courts which should be insulated from political pressure;

WHEREAS the disgraced President in fact has been the recipient of a train of special privileges not accorded other prisoners as evident in his transfer from detention in the PNP headquarters in Camp Crame to a specially built detention cottage in Sta. Rosa, Laguna then to the presidential suite of the Veterans Memorial Medical Center, as well as medical treatment in other Metro Manila hospitals and lately, a “miracle bath” in a healing center in Caloocan City;

WHEREAS former President Estrada cannot claim to be the victim of political persecution like martyred opposition leader Ninoy Aquino because he is not a political prisoner being held on trumped up charges under a dictatorial regime. He is being charged under full legal processes with a common crime made worse by the fact that he committed massive plunder while occupying the highest office;

WHEREAS bending the rules of detention pending trial would only make a mockery of the rule of law and justice system in the country;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED, that the House of Representatives of the Philippines express its sense that ousted former President Joseph Estrada must not be granted house arrest or any kind of reprieve, including a Christmas furlough, in order to ensure the full enforcement of the rule of law and the expeditious and just resolution of his plunder trial in the Sandiganbayan.

ADOPTED,

SATUR C. OCAMPO CRISPIN B. BELTRAN LIZA L. MAZA Bayan Muna–Party-List Bayan Muna–Party-List Bayan Muna–Party-List

FLORENCIO B. ABAD OSCAR S. RODRIGUEZ KRISEL LAGMAN-LUISTRO Batanes, LD Pampanga, 3D Albay, 1D

ARTHUR D. DEFENSOR DOUGLAS R.A. CAGAS NERISSA SOON-RUIZ Iloilo, 3D Davao del Sur, 1D Cebu, 6D

ROSELLER L. BARINAGA LORETTA ANN. P. ROSALES ROY S. PILANDO Zamboanga del Norte, 2D Akbayan, PL Mountain Province, LD

EXEQUIEL B. JAVIER ANTONIO V. CUENCO ERNIE D. CLARETE Antique, LD Cebu City, 2D Misamis Occidental, 1D

LAURENCE B. WACNANG MANUEL N. MAMBA Kalinga, LD Cagayan, 3D

BERTHOBAL R. ANCHETA LEOVIGILDO B. BANAAG Bukidnon, 2D Agusan del Norte, 1D