Impeachment case filed against Philippine leader

By OLIVER TEVES

AP Writer

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Opposition groups filed impeachment charges Wednesday against Philippine President Joseph Estrada, launching what could be a monthslong attempt to remove him from office for allegedly receiving illegal gambling money.

Opposition lawmakers acknowledged they still have insufficient support in the administration-controlled Congress for passage of the impeachment charges.

But Estrada faces the most serious threat to his presidency as one-time allies — business, political and religious — delivered a unified message: step aside.

Estrada on Tuesday again maintained he was innocent of corruption, denying he received “even a centavo” of the $11.4 million in illegal gambling money and tobacco taxes he is accused of pocketing.

“I have been convicted without a trial,” the president complained.

But the accusations already have had a devastating effect on the Philippines’ faltering economy. And the impeachment proceedings could jeopardize democracy in the Philippines, former President Corazon Aquino said.

The peso plunged to a record low and the stock market dropped to its lowest point in two years Monday. The central bank has had to sharply raise interest rates, threatening growth in an economy that is already one of the slowest in Southeast Asia, four leading business groups said.

The “crisis of leadership” has seriously undermined investor confidence, the business groups said Tuesday, urging Estrada to step down to avert economic disaster.

The corruption allegations surfaced when provincial Gov. Luis Singson, once a close friend of Estrada’s, testified last week that he arranged payoffs of $8.6 million from illegal gambling and another $2.8 million from tobacco taxes.

Singson said he decided step forward about the payoffs after Estrada awarded the franchise for a legalized form of the numbers game jueteng to Singson’s political rival.

For the sake of democracy, Estrada should step aside until the allegations are resolved, political and religious leaders said.

Aquino wore yellow — symbol of “people power” revolt she led against ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 — to call on Estrada to resign or take a leave of absence.

“No government can continue with such charges hanging over its head,” she said.

Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin joined her at a shrine commemorating the 1986 revolt to repeat his advice to Estrada to step aside.

“May God show him the heroic value of relinquishing his post for the sake of our people,” he said Tuesday.

Opposition lawmakers and citizen’s groups filed a formal impeachment proceedings against the president Wednesday in the House of Representatives.

Estrada — whose party holds large majorities in both houses of Congress — welcomed the action, saying impeachment proceedings would vindicate him.

But Aquino warned Tuesday that impeachment proceedings, sure to be complicated and lengthy, would only threaten the country’s democracy, scare away investment and damage its economy “beyond any chance of swift repair.”

“No less than the life of our country is at stake,” she said.

And in another major political blow to Estrada, Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo announced that she had enlisted the support of several key opposition leaders for a united movement against Estrada.

“The first order of the day is unity,” said Arroyo, who resigned last week as Estrada’s secretary of social welfare after refusing for two years to criticize his presidency.

Her move to lead a united opposition constitutes the most formidable challenge to Estrada’s power yet, political analysts said.

“The equation now is: the weaker Estrada becomes, the stronger Gloria emerges,” said Alex Magno, a professor of political science at the University of the Philippines.

Estrada spent Tuesday evening trying to rally the support of hundreds of mayors from towns across the Philippines. On Monday, he accused supporters of former President Fidel Ramos of plotting to destabilize his administration with bomb attacks and other violence.

Opposition lawmakers called Estrada’s allegations “black propaganda.”