MANILA, Philippines -- Malacañang is to blame for the difficulties encountered by the court in forfeiting millions of plundered money from former president Joseph Estrada, Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio said Thursday.

Villa-Ignacio said the executive clemency granted to Estrada by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was done in haste, failing to take into account the aspect of recovering the disgraced leader’s ill-gotten wealth.

"They should have thought of this situation before the pardon was given. This is the reason why Mr. Estrada is fighting the forfeiture of his assets," Villa-Ignacio said.

On October 6, Estrada personally blocked court moves to seize his assets, saying he had paid for them when he was still a movie star.

Estrada was freed on October 26 after more than six years in detention but the Sandiganbayan special graft court has said the pardon did not cover the forfeiture of about P700 million ($16.14 million) amassed from illegal numbers game “jueteng.”

A mansion in suburban Manila that Estrada allegedly built for one of his mistresses was also ordered seized.

Estrada has repeatedly denied that he owned the funds and the mansion, and said that the government was welcome to take them.

Prosecutors earlier found that the funds have dwindled over the past six years while the court case was being heard.

Sandiganbayan Sheriff Ed Urieta said some information received by the court about assets turned out to be hoax.

"We will not stop until we can identify specific assets to seize to compensate the orders of the court," Urieta said.

Estrada was ousted in a military-backed popular revolt in 2001. He was convicted of massive corruption in September and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

He had initially appealed the decision, stressing his innocence but subsequently accepted a pardon and a reconciliation offer from Arroyo. With Agence France-Presse