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Estrada urges calm after verdict
12/09/2007 09:10 - (SA)
Manila - Former Philippine president Joseph Estrada on Wednesday urged his supporters to remain calm after a graft court jailed him for life for corruption.
In a statement, the 70-year-old former action movie star said he was not surprised with the verdict saying it "appeared to be a political move" that came after pressure from his arch-rival and successor Gloria Arroyo.
"I am at peace with myself, notwithstanding the guilty verdict because you my beloved countrymen have overwhelmingly acquitted me," Estrada said, noting his wife and two children were elected to public office despite his case.
"I disagree with the findings and conclusions of the court. These conclusions however, did not come as a surprise to us," he said.
He said he believed his case was solid, but noted that the "direct and indirect pressures" applied on the court allegedly by the government "must have been too much to bare".
He told his supporters that "all is not lost" and that he remained confident that the decision would be reversed on appeal.
In a separate interview with CNN, Estrada accused Arroyo of usurping her power and said he would try to calm down his supporters.
"Of course, I'll try to calm them. It's not yet the end of the road, we still have (an) option to appeal our case to the Supreme Court," he said.
Security forces remained on high alert amid threats that protests by Estrada supporters could trigger violence. But the huge numbers have not materialised, and only several hundred die hard fans joined a march early on Wednesday.
Thousands of Estrada supporters tried to lay siege to the presidential palace after his ouster in 2001. Four people were killed and over 100 were arrested when Arroyo called in the troops to quash the unrest.
- AFP
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