Trial unseals alleged Estrada bank records

December 20, 2000
Web posted at: 5:20 PM HKT (0920 GMT)

MANILA, Philippines (Reuters) -- A Philippine Senate impeachment court unsealed bank records on Wednesday that prosecutors said bore evidence needed to convict President Joseph Estrada on corruption charges.

A preliminary examination by the court of the controversial documents showed that the bank account on which funds were alleged to have been drawn to buy a mansion for a mistress of Estrada belonged to one "Jose Velarde."

Supreme Court Justice Hilario Davide, the trial's presiding officer, ordered the sealed brown envelope containing the documents opened after Estrada's lawyers withdrew their objections.

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