The former President of the Philippines, Joseph Estrada, has been released on bail after surrendering to an Anti-corruption Court that had ordered his arrest on graft and perjury charges. Mr Estrada is accused, together with several other people, of misappropriating about £2m in excise taxes. It was the first time an arrest warrant had been issued against Mr Estrada since he was deposed in a popular uprising in January.
Reports say that the disgraced former movie actor looked "stoic" as he had his fingerprints taken by court officers after he arrived at a court-house guarded by riot troops. Mr Estrada's lawyers immediately posted a cash bond of 40,000 pesos (US$800) for his provisional liberty ahead of his trial. Bail for the graft charge was 30,000 pesos, as fixed by court rules.
