Defense lawyer Jose Flaminiano told the court that Estrada wanted only the dispositive portion of the decision.
The special division clerk of court, lawyer Ma. Teresa Pabulayan, delivered the court’s verdict. She read the perjury ruling first that acquitted Estrada of the charge. Estrada’s acquittal of the perjury case did not draw any reaction from the people in the courtroom.
Gambling on 'kangaroo court'
When Estrada heard the court verdict finding him guilty of the plunder charges, he shook his head twice. His daughter Jackie cried, but the courtroom was generally silent. Estrada was misty-eyed as he exited the courtroom, onlookers said.
Minutes later, onlookers claimed Mayor Ejercito and Estrada's third son Jude Estrada cried, too.
'"This is the only forum where I could tell the Filipino people my innocence,'' a disappointed Estrada told reporters. ''That's why I took a gamble. I thought the rule of law will prevail over here. This is really a kangaroo court. This is a political decision.''
Rene Saguisag, co-lead counsel for Estrada, told the court the former President was not asking for special treatment and that if the court desires to put the deposed leader behind bars at the National Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City, "so be it."
“President Estrada has absolutely no intention of seeking special treatment, Your Honors. Far be it from him to seek special privileges. This maybe confirmed by the convict himself," Saguisag said.
The court asserted that Estrada may continue to stay at his resthouse in Tanay, Rizal, where he has been detained since October 2004.
Flaminiano, another Estrada counsel, said the defense had expected the guilty verdict. "History has it that special courts were made to convict an accused," he said adding that the first case tried and convicted by a special court was Jesus Christ.
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