MANILA, Philippines—Government lawyers have asked the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court to reconsider its order dismissing the last perjury case against deposed president and convicted plunderer Joseph Estrada and allow him to freely travel abroad.

In a motion for reconsideration, the Office of the Special Prosecutor said the court’s resolution, issued about two weeks ago, merely acted on Estrada’s motion to lift the hold departure order against him and should not have dismissed the last perjury case.

“It is thus very clear that what was being resolved by this honorable court was the motion to lift the hold-departure order and not the dismissal of Criminal Case No. 26564,” it said.

The anti-graft court convicted Estrada of plunder in September 2007 and sentenced him to 40 years in prison. The court also acquitted Estrada in one of two perjury cases.

Estrada never served the prison term, however, as President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo granted him a pardon barely a month after.

Last month, Estrada petitioned the Sandiganbayan Special Division to lift the hold-departure order against him. The court granted the motion, citing the pardon he received and his acquittal in the perjury case. The court also dismissed the second perjury case against Estrada, Criminal Case No. 26564, ruling that the issue had become moot.

The prosecution argued, however, that Estrada should have first filed a motion seeking to dismiss the case against him before the court could act on it.