Surprise! The P3,233,104,173.13, that the anti-graft court found stashed, in the notorious Jose Velarde account, after a five year trial, has dwindled to only P2,770.69.

Despite the court's finding, ousted President Joseph Estrada lawyers now say: "Sorry, we've already stashed away the P3.2 billion," Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio fumed. "But you're welcome to take the P2,000."

Opened with a one peso deposit, the "Jose Velarde" account ballooned to P3,233,104,173.13 in just a year. Estrada claimed Velarde was his crony Jaime Dichavez (who skipped town ahead of the cops without leaving a forwarding address.) Nonsense, said the court. The trial proved Estrada masqueraded as Jose Velarde. Thus, the P3.2 billion should be forfeited.

Many knowledgeable observers have long cautioned: Jose Velarde (a.k.a Joseph Estrada) would hurriedly draw down that account, after the plunder trial followed impeachment. And so it came to pass.

"Erap and his over-extended family had all of May 1998 to October 2007 to launder that money, (and) anything else ill-gotten the Ombudsman had not uncovered (yet)," noted the New York blog: "My National Disaster: the Republic of the Philippines"..

"Erap emptied those accounts long before conviction, and transferred them to...who knows?," blog author ex-PCCG commissioner Ruben Carranza worte. "It could be any of five mistresses. Or the San Juan-sized community of children he sired. There (was) enough plundered money to go around."

Naisahan nanaman ang Pinoy. Are ordinary taxpayers, like us, stranded with an empty bag again? The Marcoses, for example, funneled funds to shell foundations in Lichtenstein, Bahamas, etc. Assets were secreted in the name of cronies, like Lucio Tan, claim Imee and Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The PCGG, under the late Haydee Yorac, tracked down $846 million but the rest hasn't been recovered. Nonetheless, Imelda gushed in an Inquirer interview. "Why, we own practically all of the Philippines."

For short term political gains, President Gloria Macapgal Arroyo and minions unhooked Estrada, then twisting in the wind. "Noche Buena, at the Estradas, was always fun," chortled Interior Secretary Ronaldo Pono, as Malacañang rushed pardon papers.

Ignored were nitty-gritty items: settling of civil liabilities, time frames, etc. Nor was there careful study of consequences. Above all, prisoneros olvidades - those who lacked clout - were forgotten, Catholic Bishops Conference president Angel Lagdameo worried,.

Estrada insists Malacanang gave absolute pardon. Yes, yes, yes, murmurs Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez. Thus, he can launder what the court declared ill-gotten? But Malacañang and the Solicitor General hedge, claiming the pardon was conditional. So, what is this animal exactly?

The muddling does not change the stark fact of emptied bank accounts. "Bank documents show, without doubt, that the Boracay Masion was purchased by money withdrawn from Jose Velarde's account in the amount of P142 million," the court said.

But Boracay Mansion, also ordered seized, has been cannibalized.

Kung sino ang nagmamadali, ay siyang nagluluat," the Pilipino proverb says. "He who hurries is delayed." The murk, however, jacked up the gall of Erap's defense lawyers.

They castiagated court and prosecutors. And why? For failing to prevent Erap from hiding stolen money, of all things. :"Beforehand, they should have protected accounts subject to this case," defense counsel Jose Flaminano pontificated. "They should have anticipated events like this."

But they did. Back in 2003, Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo sought Urban Bank records of Jose Victor Ejercito. Sandiganbayan for example, found that from Urban Bank trust account number 858, Ejercito funneled P182 million into the Velarde account. Estrada's personal secretary, Lucena "Baby" Ortaliza deposited almost one billion pesos for a then shadowy Jose Velarde.

The Estradas bucked the Ombudsman subpoenas in the Supreme Court. They were trashed - in 2006. In an age where funds can be transferred with the click of a computer mouse, that delay has been fatal. Three years gives all the time for looted funds to scram.

We forget that Estrada is not an accused person presumed innocent. "He is a convict, pardoned and freed from prison, but not from forfeiture," the blog points out. But Erap ignores this and claims: the law does not compel a plunderer (i.e. Estrada) to pay value of what he stole. This is a forfeiture of plundered assets, not a debt of money, Erap's lawyers insist.

No kidding? What exactly is being forfeited here? "Bank accounts?" the blog asks "Or money that was once there? If we take the argument of Estrada's lawyers seriously, then all the People of the Philippines can get back from Estrada is a broken piggy bank."

Erap is trying to derail execution of the un-pardoned penalty of forfeiture? If so doing, he'd keep the proceeds of plunder. "Doesn't this constitute a continuing crime of money laundering?" the blog asks. And it's coming from someone who is making noises about running for Malacanang again.

Above all how does Erap's position stack up against the example set by Zacchaeus the tax collector. "Half of my goods I give to the poor," he told the Master. "And if I've cheated anyone, I pay back four times as much."

(E-mail: juan_mercado@boholchronicle.com)