“The alignment of the stars is against us. Joseph Estrada’s fate was decided on January 20, 2001 when an overwhelming majority of the members of the Supreme Court went to EDSA to swear in Mrs. Arroyo into office," he said.

“The entire system is against us, the Supreme Court, the administration, the special division. The Supreme Court has already declared that President Estrada is an evil person; we don’t expect a lower court to tell the SC that it was wrong. Still, we are hoping against hope that the justices will see this case the way we see it," Saguisag added.

He said despite his predicament, Estrada is buoyed by the continued support of the masses and his family.

Earlier, Malacanang has indicated that President Arroyo is inclined to pardon Estrada if he is convicted.

This came as a survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations said majority of Filipinos have more trust on Estrada than Arroyo and that they believe the former president was not guilty of plunder.

The police, meanwhile, massed its forces for any eventuality in metro Manila and throughout the country should the court convict Estrada and his supporters stage violent demonstrations in reaction to the verdict.

National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales and Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno have said have hinted at a possible pardon saying the President is eager to seek greater national reconciliation.

“Our only consolation is that every survey shows that the people believe in Erap’s innocence. That’s our vindication," Saguisag said.

The graft court issued an order to PNP chief Oscar Calderon to produce Estrada, 70, in court at 9 a.m. of Sept. 12.

Estrada faces life imprisonment if found guilty. The government fears the masses could riot in Manila.

Estrada maintains he is innocent on charges of taking gambling payoffs, tobacco tax kickbacks and unreported income from hidden businesses.

“I am confident that I will be acquitted if the court would only base their decision on the merits of the case," he told Reuters in a phone interview Sept. 7 from his Tanay rest house where he is detained.

“They have failed to present any strong evidence to support these fabricated charges."

Presiding Justice Teresita de Castro and Associate Justices Francisco Villaruz Jr. and Diosdado Peralta completed hearings in the six-year case last June.

State prosecutors submitted 626 pages of case summaries based on the testimony of 76 witnesses and documentary evidence.

Estrada’s lawyers presented 276 pages of summaries from about 80 witnesses. Estrada took the witness stand 11 times from March to June 2006.

In March, Charlie “Atong” Ang, a close associate of Estrada, pleaded guilty to diverting P130 million of tobacco excise taxes and was sentenced to at least two years and four months in jail.

“We have not contemplated that scenario of an acquittal,” said Villa-Ignacio.

Villa-Ignacio even displayed on a stand beside his office desk a caricature of him in a boxer’s stance, standing over the fallen figure of Estrada inside a boxing ring.

He said the picture was a birthday gift from his students at the Ateneo Law School, who he said share his confidence of a guilty verdict.

Villa-Ignacio said he is drawing his faith from two pronouncements of the graft court affirming that there is sufficient evidence on record which would result to a conviction.

The first was the denial of Estrada’s Demurrer to Evidence in 2004 when the special division declared that the prosecution’s evidence, unless sufficiently rebutted by the defense, is enough to convict Estrada. The second was when the court denied Estrada’s petition for bail in 2005 on the ground that the evidence against him is strong.

“With that kind of evidence, I don’t see how the court will appreciate these differently. But if he still bucks the odds and gets an acquittal, maybe I will start shooting everyone in sight," Villa-Ignacio joked.

“If, even after all the efforts we have exerted in this case, former President Estrada is still acquitted, there will always be that feeling of disappointment," he said.

Saguisag voiced disappointment at the statement of Villa-Ignacio on Estrada’s chances of acquittal.

“What we’d really like to hear from Villa-Ignacio is that after this case is concluded, he will start really working on (former Justice Secretary Hernando) Nani Perez. As we have said from the start, justice in this government is being administered with an evil eye and an uneven hand," Saguisag said.

The Office of the Ombudsman has recommended the indictment of Perez on graft and misconduct charges based on the complaint of extortion filed against him by former Manila Rep. Mark Jimenez.

Estrada has accused Perez of pressuring him to flee the country after his ouster in 2001, allegedly promising to make special arrangements to ensure that the former president will not be prosecuted.

Villa-Ignacio said under the law, Sen. Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada will “not be touched" even if he is convicted of plunder along with his father and lawyer Edward Serapio.

“He will stay in the Senate. There are still a lot of processes, appeals in the Sandiganbayan and up to the Supreme Court. He will still be a senator unless he is convicted and the Supreme Court affirms it," Villa-Ignacio said.

He said if the prosecution wins, the government might have to settle for a lot less than the P4.2 billion that it is seeking to recover from Estrada.

“We could not focus on the (forfeiture of the defendants?) properties.

The prosecution panel was too busy gathering evidence for the trial. We are going to use the general writ issued by the Sandiganbayan to get as much as we can. But at present, what we have attached is far below P1 billion," he said.

Among Estrada assets already covered by the court’s freeze order are the P213 million in a bank account of the Estrada Muslim Youth Foundation.

Villa-Ignacio said he is unsure if the so-called “Boracay” mansion and the other houses allegedly built by Estrada are covered by the general writ.

Sandiganbayan chief sheriff Edgardo Urieta said only 50 seats have been allotted for the media on promulgation day.

Three first rows in the right side of the courtroom have been set aside for the prosecution and its guests that will include former Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo, private prosecutors, Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez and other officials of the Office of the Ombudsman.

The same number of rows is reserved for Estrada’s family and supporters.

The remaining seats are to be given to other parties on a first-come, first-served basis.

Urieta reiterated that no still and video cameras, cellular phones, two-way radio handsets and tape recorders will be allowed in the courtroom.

He said an audio-only monitor would be set up at the second floor rightwing of the building where recordings of the proceedings would be permitted for those who could not be accommodated in the courtroom.

The Special Division approved Estrada’s request to visit his 102-year-old mother, Dona Mary Ejercito, who has been confined at the San Juan Medical Center since Aug. 10 and who is reported to be in a precarious condition.