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Filipinos agitate against Estrada

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November 5, 2000 

MANILA (AP) - Tens of thousands of Filipinos, led by the Roman Catholic Church, rallied in Manila Saturday demanding that President Joseph Estrada resign over allegations he received millions of dollars from illegal gambling lords.

Pressure on Estrada to step down has escalated rapidly as prominent lawmakers have deserted his LAMP party in recent days. More than 50 former LAMP congressmen have said they will support an impeachment motion in the House of Representatives, virtually assuring enough votes to send it to the Senate for a trial.

Saturday's rally, organized by Manila's influential archbishop, Jaime Cardinal Sin, was held at a shrine commemorating the peaceful "people's power" revolt that ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.

While the color yellow symbolized the 1986 revolt, many participants in Saturday's rally wore white, representing their demand for corruption-free government.

Estrada's crisis erupted early last month when a provincial governor, Luis Singson, testified that the president had asked him to coordinate the nationwide collection of payoffs from an illegal numbers game called "jueteng."

Singson said he personally sent Estrada more than 400 million pesos (dlrs 8.6 million) in jueteng payoffs and 130 million pesos (dlrs 2.8 million) from provincial tobacco taxes. Estrada has denied taking any illegal gambling money but has provided little evidence in his defense.

Also expected to join Saturday's rally were former President Corazon Aquino, who helped lead the 1986 "people's power" revolt, and Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who heads an opposition coalition and is next in line for the presidency.

"It is not a happy occasion for Filipinos to declare the leader whom they freely and popularly elected president is someone who has betrayed their trust so grievously, so callously, so repeatedly," Arroyo said.

The resignations from Estrada's LAMP party on Friday included the leaders of both houses of Congress - Senate President Franklin Drilon and House Speaker Manuel Villar.

Drilon urged Estrada to resign to end the political crisis and prevent a further economic deterioration. Dwindling business confidence has had a devastating effect on investment and Philippine financial markets, with the peso hitting a record low this past week and stocks trading near two-year lows.

Villar said he would back the impeachment complaint, which the House Committee on Justice is to start considering Monday.

Trade Secretary Manuel Roxas II, the grandson of a former president, left his Cabinet post Thursday.

The resignations could help stabilize financial markets by assuring traders that the political crisis will be resolved soon, either through Estrada's resignation or impeachment, analysts said.

Estrada's chief political adviser, Angelito Banayo, who also resigned Friday, said the president could wait out the impeachment process if markets recover this coming week.

But "if protests continue and the financial markets deteriorate, the president will have to make a personal decision," implying resignation, he told DZMM radio.

On his weekly television program Saturday, Estrada suggested he would stay on to face impeachment.

"As your president, what is most important for me is the welfare of the people. For you, I am willing to make sacrifices on any political matter. In my view, the process provided by the constitution is sufficient," he said.

More desertions, however, are expected in the coming days, upping the pressure on Estrada to step down.

Late Thursday, Estrada offered to face a referendum on whether he should stay in office. He did not specify how it might be held, and opposition groups have not backed the idea.

The impeachment complaint accuses Estrada of corruption, bribery and constitutional violations. A vote of at least one-third of the House, or 73 members, is needed to send the impeachment complaint to the Senate for a trial. A vote by two-thirds of the 22-seat Senate is required to remove the president from office.