Former President Joseph "Erap" Estrada and currently mayor of Manila said that former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo did no wrong.
Arroyo a Pampanga representative.
Both the former presidents were detained for plunder case, Erap stayed on his house rest arrest while Arroyo in a hospital arrest.
When Arroyo was still the president Erap was pardoned by her, after he was accused and detained while Arroyo was ordered freed by the Supreme Court this year.
Erap said, “I am happy that she has been freed because it has been proven that she did nothing wrong,” and what happened to Arroyo had happened to him, he added.
“It was too much,” the mayor said.
“Our former President Corazon Aquino said sorry, the Church said sorry because of what they did to me. They did not prove anything, that I stole,” Erap said while referring to the key players in the 2nd Edsa revolution that made him replaced by Arroyo on 2001.
The mayor denied the impeachment he has been through as President before, said that “coup d’etat,” referring to Edsa II, was “illegal," he said.
“All the contracts I signed, they looked at them. All the lawyers looked at the contracts I signed, they weren’t able to prove anything, not even a contract,” Estrada stated.
“That’s just how it is. Because it has been proven that she did not do anything wrong. It’s a good thing she has been released already,” Estrada stressed.
Voting 11-4, the Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the plunder case filed in 2012 against the former president Arroyo. It was the alleged misuse of P366 million of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office funds meant for charity.
Former president Estrada faced plunder case who's allegedly received P545-million protection money from “jueteng” operators and a P189.7-million kickback from a Belle Corp, stock transaction; and the P3.23-billion “Jose Velarde” bank account.
Erap was detained in 2007 and sentenced to life imprisonment, but was pardoned by Arroyo and was realeased.
Senator Richard Gordon reacted to the Ombudsman for "poor lawyering" on Wednesday.
“Sometimes you wonder whether these cases are prepared very well, because it is the high court saying it lacks evidence,” Gordon said. “Now that she’s acquitted, where did all the years go?” he added.