An employee of President Joseph Estrada's former lawyer told the leader's corruption trial Thursday she helped set up what prosecutors claim were dummy companies to channel alleged bribe money.
Maria Jasmine Banal, 27, said she had followed the lawyer's instructions and signed articles of incorporation for the two companies in which she also acted as one of the board members.
She identified the lawyer as Edward Serapio, whom prosecutors earlier said was the recipient of some 200 million pesos (3.9 million dollars) in alleged bribe money from illegal gambling syndicates meant for Estrada.
Banal said she worked as an associate in the law firm where Serapio, who has since quit as Estrada's lawyer, was a senior partner.
Estrada has been impeached by the House of Representatives on charges of corruption, betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the constitution and is facing a trial in the Senate. If convicted, he will be removed from office.
Banal said she was asked by Serapio in October 1999 to sign articles of incorporation for Alexi Holdings Corp. and Pio Holdings Corp. and act as board member of the firms along with other associates of her law firm.
She said she was later asked to sign a "blank deed of assignment" to transfer shares she held.
To a question, Banal said she did not know to whom her shares were transferred and that it was common practice in their law firm for senior partners to ask them to sign articles of incorporation without being informed who the principal shareholders were.
Serapio was also a former corporate secretary of a Muslim charitable foundation run by the president and which prosecutors said was used as a front for the president's alleged illegal gambling payoffs.
Prosecutor Roan Libarios told the Senate tribunal conducting Estrada's trial that the holding companies for Alexi and Pio were "dummy corporations set to acquire shares" of another firm that later took over a casino.
Libarios said Banal's statements were meant to corroborate a testimony that the casino was built from the proceeds of a nationwide protection racket on illegal gambling allegedly set up by Estrada in 1998.
Prosecutors said Banal's testimony also supported allegations that Estrada had accepted millions in bribes from operators of the illegal but popular gambling operation called jueteng.
Earlier Thursday, prosecution star witness provincial governor Luis Singson criticized defense lawyers for portraying him as a corrupt official whose expose of the president was meant to divert public attention away from anomalies in his province.
"They are adding all of that up to make the public think I was all bad," said Singson.
Singson says he was the bagman who collected pay-offs for Estrada from the jueteng operators. He also said he helped the president in skimming off millions in state tobacco excise taxes.
He has testified that the bribes from gambling bosses ran up to 8.3 million dollars.
Prosecutors contend that Estrada, a 63-year-old former action movie star, used the money to fund a lavish lifestyle for himself and numerous mistresses.
In about five hours of cross-examination by defense lawyers on Wednesday, Singson appeared combative and reiterated his earlier testimony -- MANILA (AFP)
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