State lawyers: It’s Estrada causing delay

MANILA, Philippines–Government prosecutors on Monday turned the tables on detained Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, saying it was he who was deliberately delaying the resolution of his bail petition in the Sandiganbayan in connection with the P184-million plunder case against him.

In an 11-page manifestation, prosecutors from the Office of the Ombudsman told the antigraft court’s Fifth Division that Estrada was prolonging the proceeding by asking for “never-ending details and information” on the forensic investigation of the external hard drive of primary whistle-blower Benhur Luy.

The digital files on Luy’s hard drive became the basis of a 13-part Inquirer series on the misuse of the P10-billion Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), or pork barrel, of several lawmakers.

In its motion, the prosecution asked the court to proceed with the forensic examination of the contents of the electronic device “without any further delay” as stated in its March 6 resolution.

It said Estrada had been raising “redundant and immaterial” questions about the digital investigation which will be conducted by an expert from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

“Despite having provided the accused with various hardware and software specifications in three separate communications, within a period of about two months, Estrada still was not satisfied,” the prosecution said.

The prosecution said that addressing the technical questions on the forensic investigation to be conducted by the NBI should have been simple, but Estrada “made it an operose task.”

“Estrada’s scheme to delay the forensic examination is not only evident, it is appalling,” it said.–Marlon Ramos