News Update Estrada: Corona has advantage I never had

Former president Joseph Estrada, who once saw himself at the heart of an impeachment trial, says Chief Justice Renato Corona has an advantage he never had. “One thing I want to say is that Chief Justice Corona is very fortunate than me because the presiding officer (Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile) is very impartial, very fair,” Estrada said in an interview on Wednesday. Estrada accused former chief justice Hilario Davide, who served as presiding officer during his trial, of being part of the conspiracy to oust him. “The only difference is the presiding officer. Kasi yung dating presiding officer by the name of Hilario Davide kasama sa conspiracy,” he added. Estrada was charged with cases of plunder and perjury during his presidency. The impeachment trial never saw its conclusion after the prosecutors walked out of the court when the Senate refused to accept evidence against him. All these led to second people power revolt. The ex-president stressed that, unlike his, Corona’s trial should end with a final ruling from the court. “Dapat matapos ito to correct the mistake during my trial. It was aborted. Hopefully this trial will be finished to find out the truth,” he said. Although Estrada thinks the proceedings are quite slow, he said he is confident that the trial will come to a conclusion especially with Enrile as presiding officer. The ex-president, however, refused to comment on the performance of the prosecution to avoid allegations that he is influencing his son, Jinggoy, who is among the senator-judges. “I have nothing against Corona but no one is above the law. Not even the president, how much more the chief justice? Nobody is above the law,” Estrada said.