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By Jomar Canlas Reporter
The Sandiganbayan granted
permission to convicted President Joseph Estrada to attend oral
arguments on his motion to overturn his plunder conviction.
In a two-page order, the
antigraft court headed by Presiding Justice Teresita Leonardo-de
Castro, also gave Estrada permission to visit his mother, Doña Mary
Ejercito, who has been confined in a San Juan hospital since August
10.
The court date on Estrada’s
motion is Friday. The other justices in the Estrada plunder trial
are Francisco Villaruz and Diosdado Peralta.
In a previous hearing, de Castro
said they will submit the case for resolution after the oral
arguments on Estrada’s motion for reconsideration are heard.
The Sandiganbayan allowed Estrada
to attend the oral arguments since the Office of the Special
Prosecutor did not object to that request. The Philippine National
Police objected to Estrada’s request, but the court set that
aside.
Under the court’s order,
Estrada will leave his rest house in Tanay, Rizal, where he is
detained, at 7 a.m. on October 18. He will stay overnight at his
house in San Juan City from where he will be taken to the
Sandiganbayan next day. After the hearing, Estrada will return to
see his mother at the hospital, where he can stay up to 5 p.m.
This is the fourth time that
Estrada was granted a furlough to visit his mother since his
conviction September 12.
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