Philippine leader, facing impeachment, woos the poor

Estrada gestures as he addresses a squatters' community Thursday in Tala, Philippines

MANILA, Philippines (Reuters) -- Philippine President Joseph Estrada, facing charges that he received millions of dollars in bribes from gambling lords, took his case to Manila's shantytowns on Thursday, proclaiming his innocence and vowing not to resign.

"No, no," cried a crowd of homeless families in the Philippine capital's poor neighborhoods -- Estrada's political stronghold -- when he asked them, "Do you want me to leave you?" and "Do you want me to resign?"

Estrada, against whom opposition lawmakers have started impeachment proceedings, has denied the allegations triggered by a provincial governor that he received $8.7 million in gambling kickbacks, and has refused to step down.

On Thursday, he ordered the immediate closure of state facilities that run online bingo and other forms of betting.

RESOURCES TIME: All Bets are Off Asiaweek: All Played Out?

Catholic clergymen, who have led calls for Estrada to resign, oppose state involvement in gambling.

Philippine shares closed at a two-year low on worries about Estrada's fate.

Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said opposition parties would present business with an alternative plan to revive the economy.

"The bottom line is restoring business and civil confidence," Arroyo told reporters, but she refused to comment on the growing clamor for Estrada to resign.

"I'd rather not answer any questions that have to do with impeachment or resignation or stepping down," she said. "This is because of delicadeza (propriety). ... I'm in the line of succession."

Opposition lawmaker Joker Arroyo -- not related to the vice president -- urged Lower House Speaker Manuel Villar to expedite the impeachment case, warning that threats of daily street protests against Estrada would make Congress irrelevant.

"The House must get on with the impeachment proceedings at once before it loses its credibility to the tried and tested protest movement," said Arroyo.

Battle of numbers

The constitution requires the Lower House to first approve the impeachment charges before the president can be tried by the Senate, the body empowered to unseat him.

Estrada's ruling coalition has enough control of Congress to theoretically overwhelm any impeachment move. Impeachment hearings could take months.

Vice President Arroyo, of the Lakas opposition party, broke from Estrada last week and resigned her Cabinet position as social welfare secretary. She is first in line to take over the presidency should Estrada step down.

Opposition Congressman Ernesto Herrera said Estrada had been lobbying for support from other lawmakers, promising state help for development projects in their respective provinces.

Church, civic, labor and student groups have started to hold daily protest rallies in small and large numbers to press Estrada to resign.

But the protests are small compared with the four-day "people power" revolt that ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.

"The difference is no one has been killed," said Paul Aquino, younger brother of late senator Benigno Aquino Jr., who was killed by Marcos' soldiers in 1983.

The murder sparked three years of protests capped by the rise of the senator's widow, Corazon Aquino, to the presidency.

Arroyo said street demonstrations were not in her plans.

But she said "very clearly" there was a great loss of business and civil confidence. "The deeper the economy would be damaged, the more difficult would be the recovery," she said.

Arroyo said her party and two smaller opposition groups agreed to form a "united opposition," set up a common secretariat and draft a common "national alternative agenda" to help restore business confidence.

A fourth political party with a grass-roots base, the Philippine Social Democratic Party, was due to sign up, she said.

"If the business community sees there is an alternative program, at least they will see there is light at the end of the tunnel, wherever that tunnel may end," she said.

Opposition bloc files impeachment charges against Philippine president
October 18, 2000
Philippine opposition legislators file motion to impeach president
October 17, 2000
Philippines' president vows not to resign
October 14, 2000
Bloc delays filing impeachment case against Philippine president
October 13, 2000
Philippines' vice president resigns from Cabinet
October 12, 2000

President Joseph "Erap" Ejercito Estrada

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.