Erap: Davide appointment as SC chief a favor for Lucio Tan

The appointment of Hilario Davide Jr. as chief justice in 1998 was done as a favor for business tycoon Lucio Tan, former President Joseph "Erap" Estrada admitted in a radio interview Tuesday.

Estrada, who got more than 9 million votes in the May 10 presidential race despite his conviction for plunder, also assailed Davide’s recent appointment as head of an independent body that will investigate unresolved controversies in the Arroyo administration. “Ang totoo, noong ako ay presidente inimbitahan ako ni Lucio Tan sa penthouse niya sa hotel niya. Sabi niya magdi-dinner lang kami. Inimbita lang ako. Pero pagpasok ko sa penthouse, nandoon na si Chief Justice Davide. Iyan (Tan) ang lumakad para ma-promote iyan at maging chief justice," said Estrada in a dzMM interview. (When I was President, Lucio Tan invited me to a dinner at his penthouse. There I saw Chief Justice Davide. It was Tan who worked to get Davide promoted to chief justice.) Estrada did not say when and where the meeting took place. He said he heeded Tan's request and appointed Davide. GMANews.TV tried calling Davide for comment, but he was not answering his phone. But it could be that Estrada has a grudge against Davide, who in 2002 was conferred the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service — a singular honor that is often viewed as the Asian equivalent of the Nobel Prize. He was also recognized for his life of principled citizenship and his profound service to democracy and the rule of law. Davide was the presiding judge in the impeachment trial against Estrada in December 2000. Then Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assumed the highest post in the land after a mass uprising - similar to the 1986 People Power Revolution – put an abrupt end to Estrada’s reign. Davide administered Mrs. Arroyo's oath-taking in January 2001 and it was also during his watch that the Supreme Court upheld the legality of Mrs. Arroyo's assumption to the presidency. Doubts During the interview, Estrada expressed doubts on whether Davide, now retired, could be trusted to lead the Truth Commission since he knew that the former Chief Justice and Tan were always doing favors to each other. He claimed that when it was Davide’s turn to return the favor to Tan, the former magistrate did not disappoint. He said Davide was instrumental in the dismissal of what was considered as the country’s biggest tax evasion case — the P25.3-billion lawsuit filed against Tan, owner of Fortune Tobacco Corp. and Asia Brewery. “Noong in-elevate ko sa Supreme Court [ang kaso], ang ginawa ni Davide ni-remand sa lower court. Hindi na nag-apela kaya na-dismiss ang tax evasion case," said Estrada, whose administration was cut short by a corruption scandal. (When I elevated the case to the Supreme Court, Davide remanded it to a lower court. There was no appeal so the tax evasion case was eventually dismissed.) Estrada said Tan asked him to no longer bring the tax evasion case all the way to the Supreme Court, but he said he turned him down. “Alam kong interes ng gobyerno ang nakataya, kaya hindi ko na siya pinagbigyan at in-elevate ko," he said. (I knew the government’s interest was at stake so I didn’t give in to his request and the case reached the Supreme Court.) Estrada said the two incidents became the catalyst for Davide to “gang up on me." He said he would be baring more details about these incidents in his upcoming memoir, which he is planning to finish by December. “Lalabas po iyan kapag natapos iyong memoirs sa libro ko. Lahat yan dokumentado at nakasulat (This will go public once I finish my memoirs. All these are documented and written down)," he said. Indebted to Arroyo In the same radio interview, Estrada said it would be hard to believe Davide would pin down former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo since he is indebted to her for appointing him as Philippine ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations in New York. “Paano niya ipo-prosecute ang isang taong may utang na loob sya (How can he prosecute someone he is indebted to)?" he said. Davide quit his post last April after he aligned himself with then presidential contender Sen. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, who went on to win the presidency. Aquino earlier named Davide to head the Truth Commission, although he has not yet issued an executive order creating the investigative body and defining its parameters. Estrada also maintained that Davide committed an illegal act in 2001 when he took the oath of then Vice President Arroyo as new president following his departure from Malacañang by boat at the height of the People Power 2 revolt. “Bakit siya magsusumpa sa pagka-presidente, wala namang vacancy dahil presidente pa ako noon (Why would he swear in a president when there's no vacancy as I was still the president back then)?" he said. Estrada was convicted of plunder in September 2007 but was granted executive clemency by Arroyo a month later. Estrada also pointed out the impeachment complaint filed against Davide in 2003 for allegedly violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. He was then accused of disbursing some P47.6 million to purchase curtains, furniture, luxury vehicles, and to construct vacation houses in Baguio City for members of the high court. The impeachment complaint against Davide did not prosper at the House of Representatives. - KBK, GMANews.TV