The deposed President of the Philippines has refused to enter a plea on a charge of plundering the country's economy. At an arraignment hearing in an anti-corruption court, Joseph Estrada said that he was acting on the advice of his lawyers. Mr Estrada is accused of illegally amassing more than £60m during his two and a half years as President. The offence is punishable by death or life imprisonment.
Mr Estrada later became emotional in court when a charge sheet referred to the deposed president as a gangster. The court clerk read out the charge sheet that alleged the 64-year-old former movie star was also known as Jose Velarde and Asiong Salonga, a notorious real-life Manila hoodlum whom he portrayed in an award-winning Filipino film in the early 1960s.
Mr Estrada said that he had never used an alias. Taking offence, he told the court: "I was a former mayor, a former senator, a former vice president and president of the Republic of the Philippines. I am not Jose Velarde. As for Asiong Salonga, I made that movie 40 years ago." It has been alleged that Mr Estrada used the alias Jose Velarde to hide his ill-gotten wealth in a secret bank account containing £60m.
