New Delhi: Former Philippines President Joseph Estrada has been sentenced to life imprisonment after being found guilty of large scale corruption by an anti-corruption court in Manila.
The trial lasted for over six-years. Estrada is the country's first President to be tried for wrongdoing in office.
He's now been barred from holding public office and some of his assets have been forfeited. He will be under house arrest while he appeals against his sentence to the Supreme Court. The 70-year-old former president was ousted in a military-backed civilian revolt in 2001.
Estrada's wife, Luisa Ejercito Estrada, and other family members wept as the verdict was read. “We expected this,” Estrada told reporters as he was escorted from the courtroom to return to house arrest on his estate outside Manila. “This is a special court created to convict me,” he was quoted by Forbes.com.
The verdict may spark demonstrations against President Gloria Arroyo, who, as vice president, succeeded Estrada in 2001. When Estrada was arrested three months later, his supporters stormed the presidential palace and battled with security forces, leaving four dead.
“His family and supporters will look for ways to oust the administration,'' said Earl Parreno, an analyst at the Institute for Political and Economic Reforms in Manila. "They may recruit sections of the military to pursue with urgency the agenda of toppling the administration because it's the only way he can be freed."
With inputs from agencies
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